Fighting My Past
by Scarlet Blue Frost
Summary: Erza tried to escape her father ever since she was little; he was never the ideal father. When she finally does escape him, she is unsure of what to do, but soon finds a purpose to live for. Will her good life last as long as some may have expected it to, or will the efforts to protect her fail? (They do not have magic, but they are part of the FBI, except it's FTBI instead.)
1. Prologue

**So I finally finished checking through the prologue of the story I said I'd post while people wait for me to edit the first story I wrote. Anyways, just so you know, the clothing that the agents wear aren't as formal as they should be, and that's because I can't write using anything formal, it just doesn't work. Don't worry though, I will most likely force myself to edit it, I just don't know when that'll be. I will be posting only one chapter a week, no more and no less.**

* * *

I got up off the ground, only to be shoved against a wall, gasping as my elbow went through it. My father hit my shoulder, hard. The thing he didn't know, is that I had called for help ten minutes before this. He threw me to the ground, then threw his half empty beer bottle at me. I bit back a scream of pain as the glass shattered against my collarbone.

By the time the cops got there, and FTBI(Don't ask... I have no idea why they were at my house too), I had bruises down my arms and legs, cuts to follow the bruises, and I'm sure I had more cuts and bruises on my face. The sad thing is, it only took them twenty minutes to get to my house and in those twenty minutes, my father put me in the state of, 'if I didn't get medical attention within the next couple hours, I would've bled to death.'

Four people pulled my father away from me, while I was leaning against the wall for support. One of the agents, a man with blue hair, left my father and came over to me.

"There's an ambulance outside." he informed.

I nodded in response. I tried to walk, but failed. I ended up stumbling and almost falling. The only thing that stopped me from falling, was the agent with blue hair catching me.

In one swift movement, he picked me up and carried me outside to the ambulance. He set me down on the stretcher and left me with the paramedics. For a while, I watched as he left, then I looked down. I didn't pay any attention to the paramedics, I focussed on the ground instead and blocked out everything around me.

**(Jellal's POV)**

I could feel her eyes burning into my back as I walked away to go help Ultear. I wouldn't be able to do much to help, I was still very weak from not eating. When I got in the house, Ultear was still trying to gain control over the abusive father.

"Ultear, where is Mira and Juvia? They're supposed to be helping you." I asked, trying to help her.

She pointed to the edge of the room. When I looked to where she was pointing, I saw Mira and Juvia leaning against the wall, barely conscious.

Eventually, Ultear rolled her eyes and pulled out her taser. She tased him and when she was done, he was sprawled out on the ground, also barely conscious.

"Why didn't you just start with that?" I asked.

"Mira said that it wouldn't be fair." Ultear mumbled.

"You don't have to listen to Mira all the time..." I sighed.

"You're right, I don't have to listen to Mira, but I'm going to because I don't want to get beat to a pulp." she retorted.

"That's a good point... Mira can be scary at times. Speaking of Mira... We should probably help her and Juvia." I decided.

"I'll take Juvia, you can take Mira." Ultear replied.

She picked Juvia up and carried her out of the house. I went over to Mira, who was now completely unconscious, and picked her up, then followed Ultear out. I brought Mira to the second ambulance and placed her on the stretcher. The ambulance that Juvia was in, had already left. Surprisingly, the one that the other girl was in, or should've been in, hadn't left.

When I went over to check it out, she was sitting on the ground, blankly staring at her house. As I walked closer, I noticed that she had something in her hand and she was holding it by her thigh. When I was close enough to see what was going on, I noticed that she had a knife in her hand, one that was stabbed into her thigh.

"What happened?" I asked one of the paramedics.

"She just started freaking out, and the next thing we knew, she stabbed herself and sat down." he explained.

I sighed then knelt down by the girl. She was muttering something, but I couldn't tell what she was saying.

"Could you let go of the knife?" I asked.

She blinked, then looked at me. Then she looked down at her leg, and shakily released the knife, then looked back at me.

"Alright... I'm going to pull it out of your leg now, okay?"

At that moment, it would've been nice to be able to read minds. I really wanted to know what she was thinking because the look in her eyes expressed five different emotions: Fear, anger, pain, sadness, and happiness.

She nodded. I reached over and grabbed the knife. She bit her lip as I pulled it out of her leg. I handed the knife to the paramedic.

"Okay, you need to go in the ambulance now. They're going to take you to the hospital." I told her softly.

She shook her head and mumbled, "I hate hospitals..."

Who would've thought that the first thing someone would say to you is, 'I hate hospitals'?

"Can you tell me why you hate hospitals?" I asked.

She shook her head.

"Well..." I sighed, "You do need to go to the hospital. The paramedics have prevented you from losing anymore blood, but I'm going to guess you have injuries that they can't take care of here. I promise that you'll be safe at the hospital." I told her.

I stood up, then helped her up. She slowly walked closer to the ambulance with me, then I helped her into the ambulance.

One person. Five different emotions.

Fear.

Anger.

Pain.

Sadness.

Happiness.

No, five wasn't the right number of emotions... There was one more now._(Not sure if it really counts as an emotion...)_

Trust.

This would be the first time someone's trusted me.

* * *

**I hope at least some of you like it! This story has more detail than the first, which I am proud of, however, I think I could do better with the detail(which I am working on). Please leave a review and tell me what you think!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Reminder: Like I said in the previous authors note, the characters do not dress as formally as they should. There's one part near the end that is kind of fast paced, but I can't quite figure out how to make it less fast paced, so I'm sorry about that.**

**I'd like to thank the two people that reviewed. Your reviews mean a lot to me, that's why I ask for them. Yes, the prologue was fast paced, and that's only because it was only put there to set Erza's backstory and somewhat foreshadow Jellal's. Anyways, enjoy the chapter! Or don't... I suppose it's your opinion on whether or not you like something, not mine... Well, I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

September 18th, I woke up extremely excited; I was finally able to try getting a job at FTBI. Ever since that day they came to my house when I was being abused by my father, I wanted to get a job there. That happened three years earlier, when I was 18.

I quickly put on some jeans, and a tank top, then put a black sweater over it. After changing into my clothes, I quickly brushed my hair and pulled it back into a ponytail, leaving my bangs and some extra hair down. I chose not to put on makeup because, well who needs makeup anyways?

I took one last look at myself in the mirror, then ate some breakfast. The second I was done eating, I ran outside to my car. My shoes were the normal knee-high black boots that I wore everyday.

I drove to the agency, forcing myself not to speed or park like an idiot, and got out of my car. Also, I had to force myself not to rush into the building. Carefully walking, I tried not to trip over myself.

When I got into the building, I went to the front desk.

"Hello... How may I help you?" the woman behind the desk asked, not looking up from her computer.

"Hello, I'm here for the job opening." I replied politely.

"Your name?" she quizzed.

"Erza Scarlet." I responded.

"Ah yes... Okay, go up to the third floor." she replied.

I thanked her and walked to the elevator. When the elevator doors opened, I ran into someone who must've been in a hurry. He dropped the papers he had in his hands.

"I'm so sorry," I apologized quickly, crouching down to pick up the papers.

"It's okay," he responded.

We stood up, and I handed him the papers that I had picked up. The man looked vaguely familiar. He had somewhat long blue hair, and a red tattoo over his eye.

"Are you here for the job opening?" he asked.

I nodded in response.

"Ha! I beat you, Jellal!" a woman with long black hair shouted.

The man with blue hair, Jellal, laughed, "Yes you did Ultear. Congratulations, you have proved me wrong once again."

Although his laugh sounded almost forced.

"How many times does Director Makarov have to tell you two not to use this building as a playground?" the woman behind the desk scolded.

"Sorry Evergreen..." Ultear muttered as she walked over to us, "So who's this?" she asked.

"I'm Erza," I responded.

"Are you here for the job opening?" she asked.

"Yes," I responded.

"Well, let's get you to the third floor before they start." Ultear stated.

The three of us walked into the elevator and Ultear hit the button for floor three. When we got off the elevator, they took me to a large room with a lot of tables, chairs and people.

"Were you two giving her trouble?" a woman with long pink hair scolded Jellal and Ultear, but gestured towards me.

"Jellal was, he ran into her." Ultear tattled and stuck her tongue out at Jellal.

"What? How is it my fault? You're the one that challenged me!" Jellal exclaimed.

The woman with pink hair rolled her eyes, "I'm not even going to ask about that one! Anyways, did you two forget that you're supposed to help me with this?"

"Oh... Right... Sorry Meredy..." Ultear sighed.

"Alright, you can go sit down somewhere Erza," Jellal informed me.

I nodded in response and went to find a seat at the front of the room, which wasn't too hard.

Meredy, Ultear and Jellal stood at the front of the room, while everyone took their seats.

"Okay, so we are planning on trying something new this time. This test will be a lot like our last one, but spaced out more," Meredy announced.

"First, you will take the paper and pencil test," Ultear informed.

"Then, you will be tested on your physical strength. Which is where you will partner up with someone and spar, the rest of the information will be given when it's time for the test," Jellal added.

"You will also be tested on your shooting skills and interrogation skills," Meredy added.

"The final thing is a surprise," Ultear added.

"And when you're done with that, the people who made it will be interviewed. Each part of this test is on a different day. Today is the paper and pencil test. Tomorrow will be the physical strength test. Then the shooting skills and interrogation skills. And the interview is on the same day as the final test," Jellal finished.

The three of them passed out the tests and some recently sharpened pencils. I looked through the questions on the test first. There were 100 of them. I knew the answers to the majority of the questions. After looking through the questions, I went back and began answering them. Every once in a while, the person next to me would move, and it was obvious that he would look at my test, then write down the answers.

I turned to page that I haven't answered any of the questions on it and sat back in my chair.

"If you can't figure the answers out for yourself, then why are you even here?" I asked him.

He flinched, "Y-you noticed?"

"It was obvious..." I responded bluntly.

Ultear came over and smiled at me, then grabbed the guy by the arm.

"I'm sorry person I don't know and don't care what your name is, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave. Erza's right, if you can't figure out the answers on your own, then you shouldn't be here." Ultear stated.

"Ul, don't be so rude!" Meredy scolded.

"Ultear," she corrected, "Fine, then how's this?" she turned to the guy that she was still holding by the arm, "Get out now, before I make you..." she grumbled then changed to a cheery voice, "Better luck next time!"

Meredy face-palmed, "Why was Ultear allowed to stay in here?"

The guy that had failed at copying my test left the room and Ultear picked up his test and threw it away. I went back to my test and finished within an hour. I brought my test over to Jellal and Meredy, then left the room. I went back outside and to my car, it felt as if it had gotten colder outside. I got into my car and turned on the heat right away. In my head, I went over the list of tests we had to do and how good I thought I'd be at them.

_Paper and Pencil test, I'm sure I did good at.  
Physical strength... Not sure.. I've sparred with people before... But... I have no clue how strong I am compared to these people._

_Shooting... I'm good at shooting and aiming.  
Interrogation, I could always get answers out of people... Don't know how though...  
Then the final one, I have no clue what it is or could be...  
_  
I pulled out of the parking lot and drove to a diner. I sat down at one of the tables and waited for the waitress to come over.

The waitress came over.

"The usual, Miss Scarlet?" she asked.

"Yes please," I responded.

Moments later, she came back with two pieces of strawberry cake. I quickly finished the cake, then took out my phone and texted my roommate, Lucy. She was a really cheerful roommate, and it annoyed me as well as it cheered me up.

**(AN Bold** is Erza and _Italics_ is Lucy.)

**Is your boyfriend at the house or can I come home?  
**  
_Natsu left an hour ago and he isn't my boyfriend! He's just my friend.  
_  
**Seems like it... Okay, I'll be home soon.**

_Okay. Did you get the job?  
_  
**I still have a few more tests to take. I have one tomorrow, another the next day and the final one is the day after that.  
**  
Lucy text me back, but I ignored it. I went to my car and drove home. I was about halfway home when a car in front of me swerved off the road, and into a ditch. I pulled my car to the side of the road and dialed 911. After explaining what happened, then hanging up the phone, I went down into the ditch to see if they were alright.

The windows were shattered and there were three people in the car. There was a little girl with blue hair in the back and a woman with pink hair in the front. It was obvious that the little girl was alive. The woman was unconscious and the other person was dead. Although, from the looks of it, it was a good thing. He was holding a knife.

I crouched down by the back window to soothe the crying little girl.

"Its okay, an ambulance will be here soon. Try not to move too much or you'll make the injuries worse." I informed her.

She rubbed her eyes, "Who are you?" she whimpered.

"I'm Erza. What's your name?" I replied kindly.

"W-Wendy..." she mumbled.

"Hi Wendy. What grade are you in?"

"Sixth grade..." she whimpered.

"Do you like your classes?" I asked.

"Yeah. Well, except for Social Studies... That's boring." she responded.

I laughed, "I never liked Social Studies either."

I could hear sirens in the distance.

I smiled at Wendy, "Okay, help is almost here. Just wait a little bit longer."

"Okay, but it hurts more now..." she whined, her voice cracking in pain.

"I know, it won't be too much longer. Could you tell me a little bit about the man in the front seat? I asked.

"Well Grandine and I were in a parking lot when he got into the car. He took out a knife and held it to Grandine, telling her to drive, so she did." she explained, "He wanted her to suddenly stop and cause you to crash into her car, but she refused to. He was trying to grab the steering wheel, but she swerved off the road before he could."

I nodded, "Okay. There are cops and paramedics here now. The paramedics will be down here shortly. I need to go talk to the cops."

I got up just as the paramedics got down there.

"The driver is unconscious, the girl is awake and the man in the passengers seat is dead. According to the girl, he was threatening them." I informed them, then went up to talk to the cops.

I told them the same story that Wendy told me.

"Were you hurt at all?" one of them asked.

"No, I wasn't." I answered.

I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket. I took it out and looked at the caller ID. It was Lucy.

"Excuse me, my roommate is calling me." I said to the officer.

I answered the phone and immediately pulled it away from my ear when I heard Lucy shriek.

"Calm down, Lucy." I mumbled.

"Where are you? You said that you'd be here 'soon' around an hour ago!" she exclaimed.

"I'm sorry. The car in front of me rolled into a ditch, so I stayed and helped calm someone down. Go ahead and eat dinner without me, I already had some cake." I informed.

I hung up before she could complain anymore.

"I'm sorry, I'm going to have to leave soon." I apologized.

"You're free to leave right now. We got the information we needed." the officer responded.

"Okay thank you." I replied, then got into my car.

Ten minutes later, I found myself at home. I got out of the car, but jumped back when Lucy came running out of the house.

"Ah! What the hell Lucy?" I yelled.

"I was so worried about you Erza!" she replied loudly.

"Don't be. It's not like I was the one that rolled my car," I retorted.

We walked into the house and I went straight to my room, locking the door behind me.

"Sorry Lucy, I have to get ready for my test tomorrow." I apologized.

I really didn't need to get ready for the test. From the sounds of it, it was based off of combat.

**So... What do you think? Was it too rushed? Boring? Good? Dont worry about being harsh when you tell me, I completely accept harshness. Wait... That sounded bad, didn't it? Let me rephrase that, I completely accept harsh constructive criticism and just criticism in general. Okay, that doesn't sound as depressing as the first one, right? Whatever. Anyways, please review and tell me what you think!**


	3. Chapter 2

I woke up to my alarm blaring in my ear. I jolted up, and immediately got dressed. I wore a loose skirt with leggings underneath and a long-sleeve black turtleneck. I did my hair the same way I had done it the day before, and put on my black knee-high boots, then went to the kitchen to eat.

After eating, I went to my car and turned on the heat. It was starting to get colder outside, though it didn't bother me too much.

I drove to the agency and went to the front desk again.

"I'm here for the second test for the job opening." I informed the person behind the desk, Evergreen.

"Third floor, again, Miss Scarlet." she responded, not looking up.

"Thank you." I replied, then went to the elevator.

I went up to the third floor and was surprised to see that I was one of the first ones there.

"Okay so we didn't want everyone here at once, so other groups are coming at different times. Jellal and- Nope. Just Jellal is in charge of combat. Ultear is in charge of testing your strength." Meredy informed.

"Okay so for combat testing, the five of you will be paired up with an agent and you will spar, one pair at a time. First, you will be tested on regular fighting, then it will be for if your opponent has a weapon in hand." Jellal explained.

"Natsu Dragneel versus Gray Fullbuster, Erza Scarlet versus Mirajane Strauss, Rogue Cheney versus Sting Eucliffe, Levy Mcgarden versus Bisca Mulan, and Kagura Mikazuchi versus Laxus Dreyar." Ultear listed off the pairings.

_I didn't expect Natsu to be here. I'm surprised I didn't notice him the previous day.  
_  
"Okay, get with your sparring partner and line up at the edge of the room." Jellal instructed.

"Hi, I'm Mirajane." somebody behind me said cheerfully.

I turned around, "Hi... I'm Erza." I replied.

We walked over to the edge of the room and waited while everyone else found their partners.

"Okay, Erza and Mira first." Jellal decided once everyone was lined up, "You don't have to actually hit your partner, we're mostly looking to see your form when you are fighting."

Mira and I went to the center of the room.

"Okay, whenever you're ready." Jellal told us.

I sidestepped when Mira swung at me. She kicked my feet out from under me and in return, I turned and tripped her, then quickly got up. She got up right after me.

After a while, Jellal stopped the fight and changed it to if your opponent had a weapon at hand.

"Now Mira, try not to actually hit her." Jellal warned, "Whenever you're ready, again."

Mira swung the stick in her hand at me. Instead of dodging, I grabbed the stick and used it to fling her to the ground.

"I give in... Already..." she groaned.

"That escalated quickly..." Jellal muttered, then helped her up, "Good job Erza."

While the other groups sparred, Ultear tested everyone's strength. By the time we were done, the next group, which was larger than ours, came into the room. We silently left and I went straight to my car. I had a text from Lucy.

_I'm staying at Natsu's tonight. He needs to help me with a project.  
_  
I smirked. Looks like I got the house to myself. After driving home, I laid down on the couch to watch TV. Eventually, I fell asleep during a commercial.

At four in the morning, I woke up from falling off the couch. Groaning, I rubbed my now sore arm. I heard a knock on the front door.

_Who the hell would knock on someone's door at four in the morning?  
_  
I got up and walked over to the door, then cautiously opened it, gasping when I saw my father.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I exclaimed, "You're supposed to still be in prison."

"What? You think I'd just leave my daughter?" he quizzed.

"That's what I was hoping for.." I muttered.

He kicked my shin, hard, "That's no way to talk to your father."

"I don't consider you as my father anymore." I retorted.

He tripped me and kept kicking my leg.

"You stupid, selfish little brat!" he shouted.

Eventually, I rolled away from him and painfully got up.

"Get out of my house!" I yelled.

"Fine, but I'll be back... Trust me." he growled, sending chills up my spine.

He left the house and I immediately slammed the door behind me.

"Dammit! I'm such an idiot!" I shouted as tears stung my eyes.

A few hours later, I was getting ready for my third test. I wore something similar to what I had worn the day before, then limped to my car and drove to the agency.

When I got there, I limped to the elevator and went up to floor three. When I got to the room that we all met up in the time before, I limped to the corner and folded my arms across my chest.

"Okay everyone, follow us to the firing range. It's on the roof, we'll be taking the stairs." Ultear informed.

"Wonderful..." I mumbled quietly.

I stuck towards the back of the group while we went up the stairs; I was completely oblivious to Jellal beside me.

"Are you okay?" he asked, making me flinch.

"Yeah uh.. My leg fell asleep, that's all." I lied.

"Mmhm." he mumbled in disbelief.

"Fine.. Don't believe me..." I grumbled.

Suddenly, someone kicked my injured leg. I gasped in pain and looked over to Jellal, who was glaring at someone behind me.

"Knock it off, Gajeel. You are here to watch, not pester them." Jellal grumbled.

"What's the fun of that?" Gajeel asked.

"If you want 'fun' then leave." Jellal retorted.

"Hmpf... I'm surprised Erza didn't take after her father." he sneered.

"Gajeel, enough!" Jellal raised his voice.

"What do you mean?" I stupidly asked.

"You're someone against crime, whereas your father was a murderer." he informed.

"I said enough, Gajeel." Jellal scolded.

"H-he's a m-murderer?" I whimpered.

"Gajeel, you can leave now, and if you don't, I'll get Ultear." Jellal said sternly.

Gajeel rolled his eyes and left.

I sat down on the stairs as I began to shake. Jellal knelt down by me.

"Erza, ignore Gajeel, he doesn't know what he's talking about." Jellal assured me.

"How long is this test going to take?" I asked shakily.

"An hour or two." he answered.

"Shit.. That's too long. I need to go home." I replied quickly then forced myself up.

I quickly limped down the stairs. If my father went to the house, and found Lucy there alone, he could seriously hurt her. I heard Jellal call after me, but I ignored it. I sped home and sloppily parked my car in front of the house.

As soon as I got home, I half ran into the house.

"Lucy?" I called.

Lucy sleepily came out of her room.

I sighed in relief, "Stay at Natsu's for a while and don't come here unless I say to, got it?" I instructed.

"Wait, why?" she asked.

"You know how I told you about my father?" I asked and she nodded in response, "He's out of prison. He knows where we live."

"Where will you stay?" she asked.

"I'll find a place, just you leave as soon as possible." I replied.

_I'm staying here._

Lucy packed her bags, then put them in her car and drove to Natsu's.

Realizing that my heart was racing, I got up and got some water. When I looked out the window, I saw Jellal getting out of his car. He walked up to the front door and knocked. Setting the cup down, I limped over to the door.

"I'm sorry about Gajeel today." Jellal apologized.

"Is what he said true?" I asked.

He hesitated, "N-no. Anyways... Ultear and I are willing to give you a chance on the test. Do you want to take it?"

I nodded.

"Okay, come on. I'll drive you there." he replied.

We got into his car and he drove me to the agency. We took the elevator to the roof where Ultear and a woman with long green hair were waiting.

"Hi I'm Bisca." the woman said kindly.

"I'm Erza." I responded.

Bisca handed me a gun and brought me over to the range. She showed me which target I was to hit, then stepped to the side.

"Okay, you have five bullets, fire when you're ready." she informed.

I got all five of the bullets around the center.

"Now, for the interrogation, I can't tell you whether or not he's a real criminal because that's part of what you're being tested on... But the scenario is; 'A woman, Sylvia Starr, has been murdered and you need to figure out if he did or didn't do it and if he's working with anyone.'" Jellal explained on our way to the interrogation room.

_If I remember correctly, that was an actual murder case a few years ago..._

In the room, there was a man with spiky brown hair and he was glaring at the table. Jellal unlocked the door to the interrogation room and we both walked in, letting the door shut behind us. Jellal stood in the corner and left me to interrogate him.

"What's your name?" I asked, playing the 'good cop' first, although I already knew his name.

"Why the hell do you want to know, bitch?" he retorted.

"Sorry, but last time I checked, I wasn't a female dog." I retorted.

"My name's Cobra, you bitch." he grumbled.

"Okay, Cobra, where were you the night that Sylvia Starr was murdered?" I quizzed.

"Don't know," he grumbled, "I don't know because I don't know when she was murdered."

"Bullshit. You know damn well where you were, and what night it was." I retorted.

"You think so?" he quizzed.

"I know so." I retorted.

"And how's that?" he asked.

"You went to a fucking bar with my father that night!" I yelled.

"Oh... That's right. I remember you now." he replied coolly.

"You assisted in murdering someone that night and also-" I cut myself off when he slightly shook his head.

I glared at him, then turned around and left the room. Ultear went into the room just as I left and Jellal followed me out.

"Sorry about that. If I'd have known he had a connection with your father, I wouldn't have let Ultear choose him." Jellal apologized.

"It's fine." I replied.

"I'll take you home now." Jellal responded.

I nodded in response.

We walked out to his car and had a silent ride home. He parked his car in front of my house, and I slowly went inside. I locked the door behind me, then I locked myself in my room. I sat on my bed with my legs tucked against my chest.

I stared straight ahead with wide eyes. I didn't feel like getting up, or even moving. My father was someone I feared very much. He had abused me since I was a little girl, and there's no use explaining the other things that he did.

I rested my head on my knees and eventually drifted to sleep.

**Okay so this chapter wasn't the best, I admit that... Sorry about not posting the chapter yesterday; I have a ton of late work I need to finish... Anyways, leave a review and tell me what you think! :D Have a great weekend while I suffer not having my best friend with me! Lucky Leaf gets to go to Hawaii!**


	4. Chapter 3

**Okay so here's my weekly chapter! I'd like to thank the one person who left a review and the few followers I gained! Oh, and thank you Ash Lite for your support!**

**Anata ni min'na ni kansha**

I jumped when I heard my alarm and fell out of bed.

"Fuck!" I yelled as I landed on my bad leg.

Forcing myself to get up, I got ready for the final test. I wouldn't really say that I changed clothes, instead, I just brushed my hair then pulled it back into a ponytail. I didn't even eat breakfast, which ended up being a good thing.

When I got outside, I saw that my car was completely beat up. The windows were shattered, my steering wheel was missing and all four wheels were popped.

I groaned, "Dammit..."

Instead of even bothering to make a big deal over my car, I just began to walk to the agency. Well... Limp to the agency.

By the time I got there, I was exhausted. I stepped into the elevator, completely oblivious to Jellal, who had walked in right by me.

"Are you okay?" he asked, causing me to jump.

"Yeah, just tired." I replied, still trying to catch my breath.

"Alright... I'm sorry again about yesterday." he apologized.

"Its fine." I responded, sitting down in the elevator, even though we were only going to the third floor.

Jellal looked at me with concern, but didn't say anything. When we got to the third floor, I slowly got up and limped off the elevator.

"You're still limping?" he questioned.

"Uh yeah... I fell out of bed this morning and landed on my leg funny." I responded.

He gave me a disbelieving look in return.

"It's true! Mostly..." I replied.

"What part of it isn't true?" he asked.

"I choose not to answer that," I retorted.

"Really, because I'm pretty sure you want to answer me." Jellal responded.

"Would you two hurry up, and stop flirting? Everyone is supposed to be testing right now..." Meredy scolded.

I blushed and looked away from Jellal. I hurried off to the corner of the room, and leaned against the wall, silently waiting as twenty other people came into the room.

"Okay!" Ultear called from the front of the room, "We are going to go through the stages of investigation. This includes talking to witnesses, exploring the scene, checking for certain traits of suspects not caught, interrogation, and everyone's least favorite: Dealing with the press."

Jellal walked forwards, "We will provide 'actors', for the press, witnesses, etc. We also will provide data such as an autopsy report, and all the science things like that... All twenty-three of you will have to reach the same conclusion. We will be setting up a fake interrogation room on the first floor of the F.T.B.I. Feel free to use it. Also, you will be graded individually. This means you can't just go along with the group. The horror..."

We laughed and Meredy walked forwards, "Does everyone understand?"

"Yeah." everyone responded.

"Also, we might have lied. We have no clue how long this will take, because it's different every time. I still remember 2001 when it lasted six we-"

"Ow! Ultear!" Meredy cried out, clutching her side, "Sorry..."

"We will now provide very basic background information. Andrea Hill, and her daughter Marguerite Hill were found dead in an alleyway. There are three witnesses, or other related persons. These people are: Willow Yester, a family friend, Quint Esker, a person who they were with earlier that night, and Jacob Zenith, a nearby bystander. These may not be the only people. Why would we tell you about everyone?" Meredy smiled, still holding her side.

"The alleyway we are using as a crime scene is on 2nd street N, and near 5th avenue. We have warned nearby people, who are not involved, so they shouldn't be an issue. If anyone is staring at a group of twenty people in an alley, can you blame them? Just ignore them. Do _not _punch them in the face. We do not need a repeat of when Ultear-"

"Shut up, Meredy! That was years ago!"

"_A _year ago," she corrected.

"What about 2002?"

"How about we just get to the test?" Jellal suggested.

"Y-yeah, but I know I've been drinking for at least- Ouch! My side! That hurts! Bad Meredy!" Ultear lightly hit Meredy's head.

"And that's why you two normally aren't trusted together..." Jellal muttered.

"What about you and Ultear?" Meredy snapped.

"What about anyone and me?" Ultear suggested.

"You aren't helping yourself..." Meredy pointed out.

"Hey! At least I'm not flirting with anyone! Right Jellal?" Ultear looked at his now slightly red face.

"Shut up." he retorted.

Ultear smirked, "Oh? Are you embarrassed?" she taunted.

"No... And just so you know, I wasn't flirting with her." he replied.

"Oh really? That's not what Meredy said..." she smirked.

"Umm... Let's get to the test..." Meredy mumbled, then led the way out of the building.

I smiled at a still slightly red Jellal and he smiled back. He stopped and let me catch up to him.

"Are you ever going to answer my question from earlier?" he asked.

I thought about it for a moment, "Umm... No."

Jellal rolled his eyes.

The second we got to the place where we had the test, I could already see that it was going to be annoying. Nobody would shut up. Not even for a second. Then again, I was in a pissy mood, so maybe I just thought that they wouldn't shut up.

"Okay, before we begin... Does everyone remember how this works, or did we cause you to forget?" Ultear asked loudly, causing everyone to shut up. Suddenly almost everyone was shouting, hurting my ears.

"Shut up!" I yelled at them.

I saw Natsu, who was farther away from me, immediately sit down.

"Umm..." Meredy looked at Natsu, "Stand up!"

"B-but Erza..." Natsu whimpered, "Sh-sh-she said-"

"I said 'Shut up'," I corrected, "Not 'sit down'."

Natsu very slowly got up, shaking. A few people laughed, but I glared at them. For some reason, they suddenly stopped laughing. Weird.

"So," Jellal started, "The murder scene is around the corner. Ultear, Meredy, and I will be ditching you now. Beware of the press. Also, when you are done, or need to talk to us, just go to the F.T.B.I. Building, and no, not all twenty-three of you need to go."

"Good luck!" Meredy called.

"Don't die!" Ultear called.

"That's bad humor..." Jellal muttered.

They turned to go. Without saying a word, we managed to silently turn around the corner. I heard Natsu scream in surprise, and looked up at the mob of people.

I was left to deal with the press.

One of them went near me, trying to talk, and I just managed to _not _murder them. I turned and glared at them.

"Go the fuck away, or I'll-" I cut myself off as they screamed and ran away from me. I didn't even say how I'd take their cake...their _strawberry _cake...

I called after them, "I was only going to say that I'd take your strawberry cake!"

Suddenly we were right next to the scene. There was a yellow tape blocking the area, but police officers let us in. I heard and saw people cringe, and I pushed my way to the front. In the center of the alleyway, a woman of about age thirty was laying dead, a wound right over her heart. Next to her was a young girl, maybe seven years old, laying dead with not only a wound over her heart, but many other open cuts.

I walked over to a police officer, "Where are the witnesses?"

He pointed to where two men were standing, talking to police. Weren't there three witnesses? I looked around and saw-

"Natsu?" I muttered in disbelief. He was talking to a witness. He was being _useful?!_

He looked at me and took a step away, shaking.

"I only said your name." I stated.

"That's scary..." he muttered.

"How?" I asked, "Wait, nevermind. I don't want to hear your stupid excuses."

He was still shaking, but started talking to the witness again. She was slightly laughing. I went over to one of the others.

"Hello I'm Erza Scarlet, member of the F.T.B.I." I slightly lied.

He nodded, "I'm Jacob Zenith."

"Where were you at the time of the murder?" I asked.

He pointed down the alleyway, "I was around the corner. I heard two screams and ran down the alleyway. They were dead by the time I got here."

"Okay. Did you know the victims personally?"

"Th-the mom, yes," he stammered, "She was my girlfriend."

"Alright, do you know why they were in the alleyway?"

"N-no," he stuttered.

"Do you know where they were coming from and where they were going?"

"They were coming from the party. It was like a high-school reunion party, just with more alcohol. They were going home... I don't know why her daughter was with her..." he muttered.

This guy was annoying. He was either stuttering or muttering. Suddenly, a brown haired boy from the group walked up to me.

"Umm.." he started awkwardly, "You seem to be in charge here, so I guess I should tell you that I'm getting an autopsy report for both of them. Oh! I'm Daniel Archen by the way!"

"Okay..." I responded, confused.

He nodded quickly and ran off towards the others. Most of them were looking over the scene, Natsu and some other lady were talking to the witnesses. I even saw a few people talking to the police. What caught my eye though, was a girl punching the press, in the gut too.

I looked back at the witness I had been talking to.

"I'll be right back..." I muttered, then walked over to the girl and the press.

"Get away!" she yelled at them, "Or it'll be your eye!"

I quickly grabbed the girls arm and pulled her away.

"No punching annoying people. No matter how tempting it is..."

"Hey, at least I had fun..." she smiled. She had short green hair, and bright blue eyes. She was fairly short, but strong.

"I'm Lily." she introduced herself.

"I'm Erza. Sorry, but please refrain from beating up the 'all so scary, press'."

"Okay, but I'll see you around Erza. You're pretty awesome." she agreed.

"You're the opposite of my roommate. Which means you're awesome." I replied, then turned and went back to the witness.

"Sorry about that..." I apologized.

"It's alright."

"Okay um... Where were you going when they were murdered?" I picked up on asking questions again.

"I was on my way home from a bar." he answered.

"E-Erza..." I heard Natsu stutter behind me, "We think we got something... Th-they want you to ch-check it out..."

I turned around, "Why the hell are you so scared of me?"

"B-because..." he started.

I rolled my eyes and turned back to the witness, who was trying not to burst out laughing, "Thank you for your cooperation. That's all for now."

Then I went over to the other people that were taking the test.

"Okay, why exactly do you need me?" I asked.

"Alex thinks she might know who it is, but she wants you to verify it." somebody explained.

"Why me?"

"You're one of the smartest ones here." a short girl with long dusty brown hair piped up, "I'm Alex by the way."

"Okay, so who do you think it is and why?" I asked.

"I think it's Quint Esker. He kept on hesitating about his answers and never made eye contact." she explained.

"We could interrogate him." I suggested, "While we're at it, let's interrogate Jacob Zenith further."

"Alright, should I go get them?" somebody responded.

I nodded and looked around once again.

"Wait," I said just before he left, "It's not Jacob Zenith. I'll be right back."

I walked over to someone who was standing at the edge of the alleyway.

"Hi, I'm Erza," I introduced myself.

"I'm Midnight,"

"Did you see or hear what happened?" I asked.

"Uh no. I was at a party," he retorted.

"I see... Would you mind coming with me and a couple of my... Companions?" I asked.

"I'll go with." he responded.

**So what did you think? Please leave a review! Sorry, I had to split this chapter in half, I'll post the other half soon. Sorry everyone, my iPad won't let me post the second part tonight... I probably won't be able to post it until Monday night.**


	5. Chapter 4

**Oh my Mavis! Guys, I got it! Part two of chapter 3! **

Alex, Natsu, Levy and I brought Midnight and Quint to the agency. We had Levy interrogate Midnight first, then I would interrogate him, then we'd move onto Quint.

"Midnight, where were you the night of the murder?" Levy asked.

"A party..." he muttered.

"Did you see or hear what happened?" she quizzed.

"No." he responded, anger edging his voice.

"I have no further questions for you." Levy responded, then left as I went over.

"Just so you know, if you act like an asshole around me, I won't be as nice as Levy." I warned, "Now, were you at the same party as Andrea and her daughter?"

"Yes." he replied.

"Did you see them leave with anyone?" I asked.

"That other guy out there, I think his name is Quint." he answered.

"Did you know the victims personally, or did you just happen to be at the same party?" I asked.

"We just happened to be at the same party." he responded.

"Do you know why she had her daughter at the party?" I quizzed.

"I'm not exactly sure, but I thought I heard her tell a few people that she was forced to." he muttered.

"Okay, I have no further questions for you. For now." I replied.

Natsu brought Quint in and dragged Midnight away, then Levy came over and I left.

"Quint, where were you on the night of the murder?" Levy asked.

"Umm.. A party... With my girlfriend." he answered hesitantly.

"Who's your girlfriend?" she asked.

"Andrea Hill." he answered.

That's a flat out lie. Andrea was Jacobs girlfriend.

"She was heading home, wasn't she?" Levy tested.

"Yes." he answered.

"Why didn't you give her a ride?" Levy quizzed.

"She refused." he said flatly.

"Wasn't she your girlfriend? Why would she refuse?" Levy asked.

"She thought I was drunk." he answered.

"Okay that's all I have to ask you." Levy replied then left as I entered.

"What are your questions, Bimbo?" he asked me.

I rolled my eyes, "Why'd you lie?" I asked.

"I didn't lie." he responded.

"Like hell you didn't!" I said loudly, "Why'd you lie?" I asked again.

"I didn't lie." he replied and leaned back in his seat.

"Yes you did." I retorted.

"Oh really? What did I lie about?" he tested.

"Andrea wasn't your girlfriend, she was Jacobs." I answered, glaring at him.

"How do you know Jacob wasn't lying?" he quizzed.

"Isn't it obvious?" I asked.

"No it isn't, but I'm willing to listen to an explanation." he responded.

"I don't need to give you a fucking explanation." I snapped.

"That's a shame, I guess you won't get anymore answers out of me..." he sighed.

"That's fine. I got all that I need." I retorted.

"Oh and what's that?" he tested.

"You aren't the killer." I answered, then left.

"He isn't?" Natsu and Alex exclaimed.

"Of course not. He was going off a script. He's a cover up. Midnight's the killer." I replied, staring at them blankly.

"What? How'd you figure it out?" Natsu exclaimed.

"Shut up..." I groaned.

"Aye sir!" he replied, his voice cracking.

"It couldn't be Midnight.." someone else grumbled.

"Oh and how couldn't it be Midnight?" I tested.

"He wasn't even one of the witnesses." they retorted.

"Are you stupid or something? Meredy even said that they weren't going to tell us about everyone." I snapped.

"She did?" they questioned.

"I was correct... You are stupid..." I mumbled.

"Whatever. Either way, it wasn't Midnight." he rolled his eyes.

"Fine. Whatever. If you want to think that it's Quint, go ahead, but it _is_ Midnight." I retorted.

"No it isn't." he snapped.

"It very obviously is." I half growled.

"Okay, who thinks it's Quint?" the person called out to the other twenty-one people who had gathered.

Almost all of them disagreed with me. Natsu, Levy and a couple of others were the only ones to agree with me.

"How do you guys think it was Quint?" I asked in disbelief.

"How do you think it's Midnight?" he retorted.

"It _should_ be very obvious." I stated flatly.

"Okay, what's your final answer?" Ultear asked, causing me to jump.

"It's Quint!" a few people shouted.

"No, Quint is just a cover up! It's Midnight." Natsu snapped for me.

"Do _you _have proof?" someone quizzed.

"Erza figured it out, that's my proof." Natsu retorted.

"Hmpf... And yet she's incorrect. Do you really think that she'd have any idea on who it is?" they asked tauntingly.

"Yeah... She may be extremely scary... But she's smart too..." Natsu replied, shuffling away from me.

"I don't believe it... It's Quint." he decided.

"Is that your final answer?" Meredy asked, walking up behind Ultear with Jellal.

"Yes." he quickly responded before I could.

"Oh... Well I suppose you'd want to know if you were correct, wouldn't you?" Ultear replied.

They nodded in response.

"Well... A majority of you just let a killer loose on the street and free to kill again. Those who followed with what Erza said, were correct." Jellal informed.

"How?" most of them exclaimed.

"You guys didn't think outside the box. Erza did. Although, I'm curious on how she collected the information so quickly." Jellal stated.

"Yeah me too... Nobody's ever gotten it that quickly before..." Meredy added.

"Thats true." Ultear commented, "How _did _you get it so quickly?

"Jacob and Willow didn't show the traits of a liar. Quint hesitated, almost as if trying to remember what to say, and Midnight was too angered when asking questions." I answered.

"How'd you figure out that it wasn't one of the witnesses that killed them?" Meredy asked.

"Jacob and Willow actually showed some remorse. Quint just acted like an ass and so did Midnight." I explained.

"Well that was some good and quick thinking." Jellal complimented, causing me to blush.

"Okay so there are five people that passed! Ultear will name them and the rest of you can leave." Meredy announced.

"Levy Mcgarden! Natsu Dragneel! Erza Scarlet! Rogue Cheney! And Lily!" Ultear called out, "As for the rest of you, better luck next time!"

Once the others left, Meredy spoke again.

"As for you five, you now get to be interviewed. Jellal will interview Erza. I will interview Levy. Ultear will interview Natsu. Laxus will interview Rogue. Mira will interview Lily." Meredy announced.

We nodded and went to the people that were interviewing us.

When my interview with Jellal was over, we walked out of the building together. He started to head to his car and I began my walk home.

"Did you walk here?" Jellal suddenly asked.

"Yeah." I answered, turning around to face him again.

"Where's your car?" he quizzed.

"At home." I replied.

"I can give you a ride home if you want." Jellal offered.

I hesitated for a moment then nodded. He led me to his car, which wasn't too far from the building. He opened the passengers door for me and shut it once I was all the way in the car. He got in the drivers seat and drove me home.

"Holy shit..." he muttered when he saw my car.

Jellal parked his car in front of my house, then got out with me. We walked over to my beat up car.

"Whoever did this, definitely didn't want you to drive..." Jellal commented.

"Yeah..." I agreed and opened my car door.

I pushed some glass off the seat. I crawled halfway into the car and put my hand under the drivers seat and kept looking for something. I found nothing.

"Dammit!" I exclaimed and crawled back out of the car.

"What is it?" Jellal asked.

"I've always had my mothers old bracelet under the drivers seat. It was the last thing I had of hers, and it's gone." I explained, wiping tears from my eyes.

I turned and walked to my house, Jellal just behind me. I entered the house and stared wide eyed at what I saw.

"Lucy?" I exclaimed, "I told you to stay at Natsu's for a while!"

"I know. I'm sorry Erza, but I was worried about, you." she apologized.

"I thought I told you not to worry about me..." I muttered.

"You did, but I can't stop myself from worrying about you." she responded.

I sighed, "Just call Natsu and have him pick you up."

"He won't come here while you're here... Remember?" she replied.

"Then tell him that I'm demanding him to." I snapped.

Lucy was staring behind me.

"Who's that?" she asked.

"Jellal. He's my co-worker now." I answered,

She brightened up, "You got the job? Congratulations!" she exclaimed.

"Holy shit Lucy!" I shouted, "You can be quieter... Anyways, call Natsu. Now."

She nodded, then took out her phone and walked into another room.

"May I ask why Natsu is afraid of you?" Jellal asked.

I shrugged, "He just suddenly became afraid of me."

A while later, Natsu came.

"H-hi Erza..." Natsu stuttered.

"Take Lucy to your house." I ordered.

He nodded in response. After Natsu and Lucy left, it was just Jellal and I in an awkward silence.

"Uh, you can stay as long as you'd like, I'll probably end up locking myself in my room though." I stated after a while.

"You aren't going to eat?" he questioned.

I looked away from him, "Th-there's food in my room..." I lied.

"That's an obvious lie." he retorted.

"Okay fine. I normally go to a diner, but I didn't want to be rude, so I just planned on walking." I responded.

"You don't have to walk, I can take you..." Jellal offered.

"Are you sure? You don't have to." I replied.

"I'm sure. So where is the diner?" Jellal asked.

I told him the location of the diner as we left the house.

When we got to the diner, I led Jellal to my usual seat. The waitress came over soon after we sat down.

"The usual, Erza?" she asked.

I nodded in response, and she turned to Jellal.

"Do you know what you want, or do you want some time to think about it?" she asked.

"I won't be eating." Jellal responded.

I kicked his leg.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"You're eating." I retorted then turned to the waitress, "He'll have a burger and fries."

"Okay, is that all?" she asked.

"Two waters please." I added.

"Alright, I'll be right back." she replied then left.

"You must come here a lot..." Jellal commented.

"I do." I responded.

"So what do you usually get?" he quizzed just as the waitress came back.

"Two pieces of strawberry cake." I answered as the waitress set our orders on the table.

I was half way done with my first piece of cake, when I heard a familiar voice.

"Hey Erza, how about a drinking competition?" I heard Bacchus ask.

"Go ask Cana." I retorted, glaring at him.

"She's not here..." he whined.

"Then go ask someone else." I grumbled.

"But nobody else is good at drinking contests." he complained.

"And you think I am?" I snapped.

"Yeah." he responded.

"Well too bad. Plus, I have work tomorrow, so go away." I retorted.

"You're no fun..." he whined.

"And you're a drunk idiot." I grumbled.

"Oh come on sweetheart..." he mumbled and I shoved him.

"Go away." I muttered.

"Quit being so boring..." he whined.

I turned and hit him in the stomach as hard as I could. Bacchus clutched his stomach and bent over.

"What the hell was that for, bitch?" he exclaimed.

"I'm tired of annoying people!" I shouted at him, "Now go away, or I'll hit you again!"

He left the diner and went to the bar across the street.

I just nonchalantly started eating my cake again.

"I can see how Natsu thinks you're scary..." Jellal commented.

"Really? I still don't see it..." I responded, tilting my head in confusion.

"How?" he asked in shock.

"I just don't really see myself as scary..." I mumbled.

"Why? Is it because of what happened to you a few years ago?" he asked, causing me to flinch.

"W-well..." I started.

"Erza, bad things don't change who you are, they change how you respond to things." Jellal interrupted.

"I-I should g-go..." I mumbled the got up.

"Erza wait." Jellal replied, getting up after me.

Jellal followed me outside and quickly grabbed my wrist.

"Look, I'm sorry that I brought it up. It's just that it's all I've been thinking about since I met you the day of that first test." he apologized.

"You remembered me?" I asked in surprise.

"Of course I remember, I carried you to the ambulance." he responded.

"F.T.B.I was there because of my father, right? Because my father is a murderer, isn't he?" I quizzed.

"Y-yeah... I didn't want to tell you, but after seeing your skills during the test, I knew that you figured it out." he explained.

I was about to respond, but his phone rang.

"Yes, this is Jellal." he said into the phone.

He was silent for a while because the other person was talking.

"What?" he exclaimed, "Why didn't you tell me sooner? I told you that if that ever happened, you needed to tell me right away!"

He hung up before the other person could reply.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Um... I'm pretty sure you already know, but..." he took a deep breath, "Your father broke out of prison a few days ago."

"You're right. I already knew." I replied quietly.

"May I ask how you found out?" Jellal asked.

"My father paid a visit to my house..." I muttered.

"Please tell me he isn't the reason you've been limping." Jellal begged.

I looked down at my feet.

"I'm so sorry Erza... If I had known, I-" he started.

"Don't," I interrupted, "Don't blame yourself."

"Sorry. Do you want me to drive you home now?" he asked.

I nodded in response.

On the way home, Lucy text me.

**(Bold is Erza, **_Italics is Lucy)_

_So that guy that you had over earlier... Is he your boyfriend?_

**Well, aren't you a little nosy?**

_Well is he?_

**Ha! I wish! He's just a co-worker.**

_Finally!_

**What's that supposed to mean?**

_You finally have a crush on someone!_

**Don't tell anyone. If you do, I will hurt you.**

_Got it. O.O_

I looked up and noticed that the car was parked in front of my house.

"Please tell me that we just got here..." I muttered.

Jellal laughed, "Sorry, I can't do that, seeing that we got here five minutes ago."

I smiled, "Thanks for the ride. Oh. Um, could you take me to work tomorrow?"

"I'll pick you up at seven tomorrow morning." he responded.

"Thank you. See you tomorrow." I waved to him and shut the car door.

I unlocked the house door and entered my house, locking the door behind me. I went straight to my room and fell asleep.

**So what did you think? I'm not sure I like this chapter, but I guess it's okay. Leave a review and tell me what you think.**


	6. Chapter 5

**Here's the weekly upload! I am also going to add another story that's a two-shot, but I might make it more than a two-shot. Please check it out, it will be called 'The Fear of Love'.**

Soon enough, Jellal's car was in front of my house. I got up, forcing myself not to run to the door. I was just about to leave the house, when I suddenly remembered every little scar on my body. Quickly running to my room, I grabbed a sweater, and threw it on over my T-shirt. Then I quickly walked to the door, then ran down the front steps, and to his car. As you could tell, I didn't do a good job on preventing myself from running.

"Good morning." I greeted cheerfully.

"Good morning. Are you ready for your first day of work?" Jellal asked.

"I'm nervous, but not too nervous." I answered.

"Well a lot of the people at F.T.B.I are a bit insane, so judging by your attitude, you'll fit in." he responded.

I hit his shoulder, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Jellal laughed, but didn't answer my question.

He still hadn't answered my question by the time we got to the agency.

"Oh yeah, by the way, I'll be the one giving you a tour of the agency." Jellal stated just as we entered the building.

I smiled, "Good, I probably won't listen to anyone else."

Jellal laughed, "Well, do you want to go from the bottom up or from top to bottom?"

"Top to bottom." I answered.

"Okay." he replied as we started walking to the elevator.

When the elevator door opened, we saw Ultear holding someone by the arm. Once I actually processed who it was, I realized it was the guy I had argued with, about who the killer was, the day before.

"I still don't see how _she _got in and I didn't!" he exclaimed, glaring at me.

"She's actually smart." Ultear retorted, causing Jellal to give her a stern look.

"It's probably because she's dating one of the agents!" the guy snapped.

I blushed and looked away.

"She's not dating him! Although he-" Ultear cut herself off.

I looked back at them, then laughed.

"Wait, you actually came here to complain about me?" I asked, "You might be dumber than Natsu."

"Please... Nobody's dumber than him." he retorted.

"If that's what you think, then you'd be surprised if you ever met the idiot that goes to The Goldmine Bar every night." I laughed.

"Who's that? You?" he quizzed.

"I don't waste my time at bars." I retorted then muttered under my breath, "You probably do..."

Ultear and Jellal started laughing.

"Whoops... Might've said that too loud..." I mumbled.

"Okay you two go up, while I get rid of this guy." Ultear replied.

Jellal nodded in response, and we entered the elevator. Jellal pressed the button for the fifth floor and the doors closed.

"So... Why'd you glare at Ultear when she was about to say something after she said I wasn't your girlfriend?" I asked, blushing.

It was obvious why. I just wanted him to admit it.

"Uh... Um..." he hesitated, "No reason..."

Even though I knew it was a lie, it made me a little sad. Was it really so bad just to admit it?

I glanced down at my feet, "So... How long have you worked here?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Four years." he responded, oblivious to the sadness edging my voice.

"How about Meredy and Ultear?" I asked, not sure where I was going with this.

"Meredy started two years ago and Ultear started five years ago." he replied, not noticing my uncertainty.

"Huh, by the way you three act, it seems like you've known each other your whole lives." I commented.

Jellal laughed, "Yeah, I suppose it does seem that way."

The elevator door opened and we stepped out on the fifth floor.

"This floor is probably everyone's favorite..." Jellal began, "It's the cafeteria floor."

I laughed, "If you're ever looking for Natsu, check here."

"Anyways, Mira usually works here, otherwise sometimes she'll switch with Evergreen at the front desk." Jellal explained, "And yes... They do have strawberry cake."

I smiled, "Yay!"

"Jellal, you made Erza not scary for a moment!" I heard Natsu exclaim behind us.

We turned around to face him.

"Why _are_ you afraid of her?" Jellal asked.

"She chased me with a sword..." Natsu mumbled, shaking.

Jellal glanced at me, and I nodded.

"Why?" Jellal asked.

"He bumped my strawberry cake and it fell, so I took out the sword that I may or may not hide under my kitchen table and started chasing him..." I explained, "Then Lucy came."

"Yet you don't see yourself as scary?" Jellal quizzed.

"Well..." I mumbled.

Jellal rolled his eyes, "Are you hungry?"

I thought about it for a moment, then nodded.

I'm sure you could guess what I got. Strawberry cake, obviously.

When I finished eating, Jellal showed me the fourth floor, which was where the field agents work and where I'd be working. Then he showed me the third floor, which is where agents like Mira work when they aren't in the cafeteria or at the front desk. They sit in their offices and go over the paperwork. He also showed me the second floor where the lab and autopsy room are. Finally, we were back on the main floor, which was the lobby and down a couple of halls, the interrogation rooms.

"Now, let's go back up to the fourth floor, so I can show you your office." Jellal announced.

I nodded in response and we went back into the elevator.

"Which floor do you work on?" I asked.

"Fourth." he answered.

I smiled at the thought of for sure being able to see him everyday, even after I got a new car.

When we got to the fourth floor, he led me down a few halls and eventually we were outside a door at the end of a hall. He opened the door and there was a desk with a laptop on it and a chair behind it. In the far corner was another chair that was in the style of one you'd find in someone's living room.

"I'll be in my office if you need anything." Jellal suddenly stated.

"Where is your office?" I asked.

"Across the hall." he answered, then left the room.

I sat down in the chair that almost seemed out of place. Looking to the far side of the room, I saw a bookshelf.

I got up and walked over to the bookshelf.

"So Jellal finished giving you the tour?" I jumped at the sound of Ultears voice, causing her to laugh.

"Yeah." I answered, still looking at the books.

"You know, he assumed that you liked books, and set those up just for you." Ultear commented.

"Really?" I asked, turning around to face her.

She nodded, "He's read all those books and thought you might like them."

After she left, I took off my sweater, due to the fact that it was really freaking hot in my office. I sat behind my desk and turned on the computer.

A while later, Jellal was at the entryway.

"Director Makarov wants to meet you." he informed.

"Okay." I responded and got up.

Jellal led me down a couple of halls, until we were in front of a large office. He opened the door and led me into the room.

"Director, this is Erza." Jellal introduced me.

"Hello Erza." Makarov greeted.

"Hello." I responded.

"Meredy just showed me your scores on the tests. You did very well." he complimented.

"Thanks...?" I replied, confused.

_I don't care about how well I did on the tests._

"Anyways... Here at the agency, we work in teams." he changed the subject, "I want to tell you who's on your team."

I nodded in response and waited for him to keep talking.

"You are on a team with Ultear, Jellal, Natsu, and Meredy." he informed, "Dismissed."

Jellal and I left the room then went back to my office. I awkwardly put my sweater back on over my T-shirt.

"You don't _need _to wear that sweater..." Jellal pointed out, "If you don't want to wear it, you don't have to."

I blushed and looked away, "I just don't like showing my arms or just too much skin in general. My scars draw too much attention."

"Well it's your choice, but it does get really hot in here at times." Jellal responded.

"Don't worry, I'll try not to get heat stroke." I smiled.

He laughed, "Okay."

"Jellal, Gajeel needs your help with his computer again." a woman with short blue hair that curled on the bottom interrupted.

Jellal rolled his eyes, then turned around to face her, "Alright... I just don't see why he can't find someone else."

Jellal and the woman left the room, leaving me alone. Soon after they left, Ultear and Meredy came in the room.

"Where's Jellal and Natsu?" Ultear asked, causing Meredy to elbow her.

"We need Jellal and Natsu because we have our first case together." Meredy explained.

"Jellal is with Gajeel and Natsu is most likely in the cafeteria." I answered awkwardly.

"Okay. Meet in the lobby in ten minutes." Ultear instructed then left.

"Do you want to come with me to get Jellal?" Meredy asked.

"Sure...?" I responded.

We left my office and began walking to Gajeels office.

"You really like Jellal, don't you?" Meredy asked, not minding her own business.

"Y-yeah... But he doesn't like me the same way." I mumbled.

Meredy laughed, "You're kidding, right? You realize that, the day of the shooting and interrogation tests when you left, Jellal is the one that begged us to let you take them anyways. Jellal is also the one that tried to make sure that if your father got out of prison, that he'd be the first one to know. Sadly, he found out a few days late-" she cut herself off and put her hand over her mouth.

I looked at her curiously.

"Please tell me that you knew your father was out of prison already..." she begged.

"Yeah, I already knew." I responded.

"Oh good. Anyways, Jellal has been making sure you stayed safe for a while now. He's definitely in love!" she exclaimed, causing me to blush and look away.

For some reason, I doubted what she said.

Soon enough, we were entering Gajeels office.

"Gajeel, for the last time, your computer was dead! All you need to do is learn to plug your computer in once in a while!" we heard Jellal exclaim.

"Which cord do I plug into it?" Gajeel asked.

I laughed when I heard Jellal's response.

"The one that I showed you as I plugged it into the computer..." he grumbled.

Jellal turned around and smiled at me and Meredy.

"We have our first case as a team. Ultear is getting Natsu, we have to be in the lobby in about seven minutes now." Meredy explained, "So you can ditch Gajeel."

"Thank goodness..." he sighed, "Well not on the fact that we have a case, but um yeah... You get the point..."

We quickly left before Gajeel could start talking again. In the elevator, Meredy and Jellal were talking in hushed voices, that I wasn't really paying attention to.

"Ow! Meredy!" Jellal suddenly exclaimed.

I looked over and laughed when I saw Jellal huddled over, clutching his stomach and Meredy was turned away from him, acting innocent.

"So... What is... Our case anyways?" Jellal asked, still in pain.

"Oh, it's the Marvel case. There was a car accident and apparently someone was threatening the driver, so we're going to the hospital to talk to the victims and see if there were any witnesses." Meredy explained.

I helped Jellal straighten himself up. He even looked in pain.

When we got to the lobby, Ultear handed us each vests. They were black with white lettering across the top that read F.T.B.I. on both the front and back. We put on our vests then used Ultear's car to drive to the hospital.

Ultear started walking to the front desk, but Meredy pulled her back.

"No... Ultear, you know what happened last time." Meredy warned.

"Geez... You scream at someone one time-" she started.

"Ten times." Meredy corrected, interrupting her.

"No it wasn't ten times..." Ultear muttered, "It was more like fifteen..."

"Try twenty." Jellal suggested.

Meredy laughed and went up to the front desk to find out the room number. Once we got the room number and floor number, we went in the elevator and up to floor three. The room was two doors from the elevator. When we entered the room, I recognized the patients. It was the people I had helped. Wendy and her mom, Grandine.

I stopped where I was, then quickly started walking again. Grandine was awake while Wendy was asleep.

"Hi, we're with the F.T.B.I. I'm Meredy." Meredy greeted.

"I'm Grandine and my daughter, Wendy, is the one sleeping over there." Grandine responded.

"Alright, is it okay if we wake her up? We have some questions to ask the two of you." Meredy stated.

"Um.. Maybe we could just question Grandine first and let Wendy sleep." I suggested.

"Alright. Erza, do you want to take lead with the questions, or should Natsu?" Meredy asked.

"I will!" Natsu exclaimed before I could answer.

Meredy stepped back, allowing Natsu to go in front of her.

"So... From what I hear, the person that was in the passengers seat threatened you. Is that true?" Natsu asked.

"Yes." Grandine answered.

"Okay, what did he want you to do?" Natsu asked.

"He wanted me to drive, then abruptly stop somewhere on the highway, in front of someone." Grandine explained.

"So what happened when he asked you to stop in front of someone?" Natsu quizzed.

"I swerved off the side of the road." Grandine answered

"Do you know what the person, in the car behind you, looked like?" Natsu questioned.

"No." Grandine answered simply.

"I could answer that one." I interrupted, receiving surprised looks, "I was the person in the car behind her. After the car rolled down the small hill, I pulled over, called the cops, then went down to see if everyone was okay." I explained, "And obviously, this happened before my car was destroyed."

Natsu, Meredy, Ultear and Jellal talked at the same time.

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"Are you okay? You weren't hurt, right?"

"You should've told us!"

They rambled on about how I should've told them.

"Are you guys forgetting the main reason we're here?" I asked after a while.

They all shut up right away.

"That's what I thought..." I sighed. I looked at Natsu, "Do you have anymore questions for Grandine?" I asked.

"No, that's all I've got." he answered.

"Okay... Do you still want what Wendy has to say?" I replied.

"Yes." Ultear answered before Natsu could.

"Be quieter..." Wendy suddenly mumbled sleepily, rolling onto her side.

"She's awake." Natsu commented.

"Obviously..." I retorted.

Natsu moved away from me.

"Erza...?" Wendy asked, "Is that you?"

"Yes, I'm here Wendy." I responded.

She rolled over to face us and opened her eyes.

"I was waiting for you to come." she commented.

I smiled, "I would've visited, but during the day I was taking tests to get the job I have now and at night, I was avoiding people, mostly annoying people. In which case, I did not want to run into my roommate or any idiot that goes to a bar." I rambled, then took a deep breath, "And.., I'm going to shut up now..."

Wendy laughed, "Thank you for calming me down while waiting for the cops."

"You're welcome." I responded.

"You're part of a the F.T.B.I.?" she said it like a question.

"I am now, it's my first day." I responded.

"Well, I already know that you're a good agent." she complimented.

"Thank you." I responded, "Would you mind telling us what happened?"

"Jellal, you can question Erza, Meredy can question Wendy." Ultear announced before anyone could speak.

Jellal nodded in response, and he brought me into the hall.

"Okay, can you tell me what you saw?" he asked.

"The most I saw when it happened was, their car swerving off the road. When I went to see if they were okay, the guy in the passengers seat was holding a knife towards Grandine and he was dead, Grandine was unconscious, and Wendy was in the back, crying." I explained.

"Alright..." he started, "Where were you going and where were you coming from?" he asked.

"I was driving home from the diner." I answered.

"Okay." he responded, "One last question... You weren't hurt at all, right?"

"I wasn't hurt. I was farther behind their car." I assured him.

"Good. I'm glad you weren't hurt." he replied.

I smiled.

_Why does he care so much? It wouldn't cause any damage to him if I got hurt... Right?_

I sighed. He was confusing.

Moments later, Meredy, Ultear, and Natsu came out. They shared the information that they found, with Jellal. I went back into the hospital room.

Wendy smiled at me, "Hi Erza!"

"Hi. I'm going to be leaving soon, but I'll try to find the time to visit you. It'll be a little harder because I currently do not have a car, but I will see what I can do. Anyways, if I end up not having time, once you get out of the hospital, I want you to come visit me." I informed.

"Okay, what's your address?" she asked.

"Just come to the F.T.B.I headquarters, I'll be there." I responded.

"Alright! Bye!" she smiled.

I waved to her then left the room.

"You ready to go?" Ultear asked.

"Yeah." I responded and we went back to the elevator.

When we got back to Ultear's car, they started being loud again.

"Why didn't you tell someone that someone else apparently planned to get you killed?" Ultear snapped.

"What do you mean that you currently don't have a car?" Meredy asked.

"How have you been getting to the agency? Did you walk?" Natsu asked.

"Didn't seem important. Someone destroyed my car. Jellal has been driving me places for a couple of days now." I answered their questions in order.

"Didn't seem important?" Ultear exclaimed, "You could've gotten killed!"

"But I didn't get killed..." I mumbled.

"That's not the point! Don't you care about your life?" she shouted.

_Not that much..._

"Ultear, calm down." Meredy ordered.

"Why sh-" she started.

"Shut up, would you?" Jellal snapped.

"I expected you to be more concerned about this." Ultear retorted.

Natsu had himself pressed against the car, while Meredy was leaning against someone else's car, Ultear was very close to busting the mirror off the car and Jellal was standing next to me.

"I never said that I wasn't concerned, and she never said that she didn't care about her life." Jellal responded calmly.

We got into the car, but as soon as we were in the car, Ultear continued the argument.

"I don't see how you could possibly think that something like that isn't a big deal." she pointed out, anger edging her voice, which caused me to start shaking.

"Ultear, shut up, and calm down before you talk again." Jellal retorted when he noticed I was shaking.

"I am calm!" she snapped.

"No you aren't." Meredy pointed out.

Nobody said another word the entire way back to the agency. Once we were at the agency, Ultear apologized.

"I'm sorry that I snapped at all of you. I didn't mean to get pissed about it... It's just-" she cut herself off then shook her head, "I don't expect you guys to understand..." she mumbled, then walked away.

"Ultear wait!" Meredy called and quickly followed her.

Natsu had run off right away too, mostly out of fear of me and Ultear. If he had sat in the backseat with me and Jellal, instead of Meredy, he would've only been scared of Ultear.

"Well... I guess we get to go do the reports on our own..." Jellal muttered.

I smiled, "Well that's fine, then we get to spend more time together, instead of arguing with the others."

After realizing what I had said, I blushed and looked away. I did wonder though, what Ultear was about to say.

Jellal and I walked in the building and went up to my office, to finish the around ten minutes of reports, I was already bored. I groaned in annoyance, causing Jellal to laugh.

"Do you want to take a quick break and go upstairs to eat?" Jellal asked.

"Yes." I answered enthusiastically.

Jellal laughed again and we made our way to the elevator.

"Do you know what Ultear was talking about earlier?" I asked, "Before she walked away from us."

"No clue..." Jellal responded. He seemed a little... A little out of it.

I quietly stood in the back corner of the elevator. I always felt safer when standing against walls. I had no clue why. When I was a teenager, I always got slammed against or through them.

When I go back to the day that I actually had the guts to call the cops on my father, it was a hell hole compared to the other days.

_I had run to my room and into my closet while calling the cops. I don't remember exactly what I had said, but it was short and choppy. Mostly because I knew my father would find me quickly._

_Almost five minutes after I had gotten off the phone, the closet door swung open. I cringed and pushed myself back against the wall._

_"Stand up, wimp!" my father yelled angrily._

_I slowly and shakily pulled myself up off the ground._

_"Quit shaking already!" he snapped._

_When I flinched, he laughed. He grabbed me by the shoulders and slammed me against the wall as hard as he could. I gasped in pain and my legs buckled below me. My father kicked me in the ribs, knocking me over. He kept kicking me after I fell._

_By the time he had no desire to kick me, I was gasping for air. I sat up so I was on my hands and knees, still trying to catch my breath. I coughed up blood onto the floor._

"Erza... Are you okay?" Jellal asked, breaking my thoughts.

I jumped, "Y-yeah... Just lost in thought..." I muttered quietly.

"I could tell that you were lost in thought... I had to pull you out of the elevator. We've been in the Cafeteria for five minutes now." he explained.

"Oh... Sorry..." I mumbled.

I got a piece of cake, while Jellal just got a plate of fries.

"When we're done eating, I could take you home, then just finish the reports on my own." Jellal offered.

"It's fine, I'll help you." I replied.

There was suddenly a loud crash on the far side of the cafeteria. I looked over to that Gray had just thrown Natsu into a table.

"Ice Princess, what was that for?" Natsu shouted.

"Shut up Flamebrain!" Gray retorted loudly.

"Who are you calling Flamebrain?" Natsu yelled.

I rolled my eyes and walked over to them.

"Shut up and quit fighting." I ordered.

"No way!" they both yelled, then they glared at each other.

"Natsu... You're an idiot..." I muttered then punched him in the stomach.

I turned to Gray, "Do you want to stop fighting now?"

Gray nodded and quickly walked away. I smiled and went back to Jellal.

"They were being annoying..." I mumbled.

Jellal laughed, "I'm sure that now, there's more than Natsu to think you're scary."

I nodded in agreement, "Weirdos... They don't have to be afraid of me, they just need to shut up once in a while."

"I think the reason they are afraid of you is that they don't know how to shut up." Jellal commented, "And when they don't shut up, they end up like Natsu."

I looked over and Natsu was huddled over on the ground, clutching his stomach and Mira was crouching down next to him.

I looked back at Jellal, "Isn't that how you were earlier when Meredy punched you?"

"Uhh... Yeah..." he mumbled.

I laughed, "So how's your stomach doing?" I asked.

"Doesn't hurt as bad as it did before."

After we ate, we went back to my office and finished the reports. By the time we finished the reports, it was 9:00pm and I was half asleep.

Jellal and I went down to the lobby, and sat in the chairs by the door.

"You look exhausted." Jellal commented, "Do you want me to go get the car, and I'll pick you up right outside."

I nodded, "Please..."

He got up and left the building, only to arrive again a few minutes later, in his car. I walked out to his car and got in the passengers seat. As soon as I shut the door, I leaned my head against the window and closed my eyes.

_"How'd she get injured so badly?" the nurse asked._

_It was my fourth time at the hospital this week._

_"She told me that some kids at school beat her up." my father lied._

_"Poor thing..." the nurse mumbled as she bandaged my wounds._

_I flinched when she bumped the large cut running down my arm._

"Erza, we're here." Jellal announced, lightly shaking my arm.

I opened my eyes and stretched.

"Thanks for the ride." I replied, then got out of his car.

I shut the door and waved goodbye, then went inside my house. I went straight to bed, not even bothering to change into pajamas.

**To me, this chapter was really sucky, and I apologize for that. Please leave a review and let me know what you thought about it. Yes, I realize it was quick too.**


	7. Chapter 6

**Sorry I didn't post this last Friday! I was really busy, plus I had my friends' sisters wedding reception to attend to and... yeah... I will post another chapter tomorrow still though! Anyways... Enjoy and thank you everyone for your words of encouragement!**

At six in the morning, I woke up to my phone ringing. I looked at the caller ID, and saw that it was Jellal.

"Good morning..." I mumbled sleepily into the phone.

"Good morning, sorry to wake you." he replied.

"No, you didn't wake me up, I've been awake for an hour now..." I yawned.

"Sounds like it..." Jellal muttered, "Anyways... Ultear found someone that she wants to interrogate about the Marvel case, but before Meredy allows her to interrogate him, she wants to know if you or Natsu want to interrogate him." he informed.

"I'd like to interrogate him." I responded.

"Okay, I'll tell them. Oh and I'm picking you up at seven again." he replied, then hung up.

I got out of bed and quickly took a shower, then I changed into skinny jeans and a tight grey T-shirt. I brushed my hair, then grabbed a sweater and brought it with me to the kitchen. After deciding that I wasn't hungry, I watched TV.

I jumped when I heard a knock on the door, but smiled when I opened the door and saw Jellal.

"Hi," I greeted cheerfully.

"Hi. You've officially worked at .I for one day." he commented.

"In that one day, I was exhausted." I pointed out.

"At least we haven't had to deal with the press yet... And I'm actually really glad because during the test, you scared the one person." Jellal added.

"I was only going to threaten to steal his strawberry cake..." I muttered.

"That's not what he thought." Jellal pointed out.

We got into his car and drove to the agency. Just as we were about to enter the building, we heard Meredy.

"Ultear! You can't punch someone just because they piss you off!" Meredy exclaimed.

We entered the building to see, Meredy hugging Ultear from behind, Ultear trying to escape, and a man with dark green hair was holding his eye.

"Umm... What happened?" Jellal asked, looking pointedly at Ultear.

"Ultear asked him what his name was- Ow! Ultear!" she was interrupted by Ultear elbowing her ribs, then finished what she was saying, "And he insulted her."

My eyes widened, "What did he say?"

"He called her a bitchy slut." Meredy replied breathlessly.

"Do you... Need help?" I asked hesitantly.

"Please..." she responded.

Jellal and I went over and grabbed Ultear. I had both of her arms, Meredy had her waist and Jellal had her shoulders.

"I'm going to... Be going now..." the man with green hair muttered and started backing away.

I released Ultear's wrists and turned around, glaring.

"You _aren't _leaving." I snapped.

"Umm... Yes. I am." he retorted.

I forced myself to look calm, "Alright... Alright... You can leave..."

He rolled his eyes and started to walk away. Before he could pass me, I punched him in the stomach as hard as I could.

"Erza! You aren't helping!" Meredy exclaimed.

The man coughed, "Bitch..."

"Was that necessary?" Jellal asked.

"No," I answered simply.

Meredy and Jellal slowly released Ultear when they saw that she was calming down.

"Okay... Interrogation room. Now!" Meredy ordered.

Meredy half dragged the person I had punched, to the interrogation room. Jellal and I _did_ drag Ultear to the interrogation room.

"Okay, Erza you get to interrogate him first, then Ultear can... And hopefully she'll be calmer by then." Meredy informed.

"Quick question... Why was he dragged here in the first place?" I asked.

"Ultear thinks he might know who the guy that was in the passengers seat might have been working for." Meredy responded.

"So almost like they're working as a team, and they each get individual targets?" I clarified.

"That's exactly what Ultear's thinking. Well... Not at this very moment... At this very moment, it could be scary to know her thoughts..." Meredy replied.

I nodded in response, then Meredy, Jellal, and Ultear left the interrogation room, leaving me alone with the man with green hair. Well, not completely alone. They were standing on the other side of a one way window. From the side of the window that I was on, it looked like a mirror.

_Shit... I left my sweater at home... I can only hope that he won't notice my scars..._

The man was sitting at a table in the center of the room. I sat across from him.

"Do you know anything about Wendy and Grandine Marvel?" I asked.

"I know that they're in the hospital because of a car accident." he retorted.

"Do you know the person that was in the passengers seat?" I quizzed.

"Maybe I do. Maybe I don't. What's his name?" he answered.

"I don't know what his name is, but I'm sure you don't really need his name." I responded coolly.

He smirked, and I tensed up when I noticed that he was looking directly at the scars on my arms.

"Are you sure that you're a trained F.T.B.I. agent? From the looks of it, you're just a hopeless little girl." he laughed.

I froze.

"Oh? Did I hit a sore spot?" he tested. He leaned forward and whispered, "You look pathetic. You think that covering the scars will help? It won't. You will always look weak and pathetic."

I rubbed my eyes, which had tears threatening to escape. Ultear came into the room and shoved him out of his seat. Jellal, ignoring what Ultear had just done, came over to me. He grabbed my arm and carefully pulled me out of the room.

"Ultear, you finish up with the interrogation." Jellal instructed just before leaving the room.

Jellal brought me over to a chair. By the time I sat down, I had tears streaming down my face. He sat in the chair next to me.

"What did he say to you?" Jellal asked.

I shook my head and leaned against him.

"I'm sorry..." I whimpered.

"Erza, why are you apologizing?" Jellal asked.

"I-I'm useless..." I said under my breath.

"You aren't useless." Jellal retorted, "If you were useless, you wouldn't have gotten the job. You also wouldn't have had the highest scores on the tests."

Meredy came over by us and I could just barely hear what she said to Jellal.

"I gave Levy the tapes... See if she can pick up his voice.." is all I heard her say.

Jellal nodded in response, and Meredy went to go watch Ultear.

**(Jellal's POV)**

I didn't know how, in two minutes, she had gotten to the state of 'she was useless', but I knew that I didn't like her that way. She wasn't useless, she was one of the strongest, smartest people I knew.

She leaned against my chest, tears streaming down her beautiful face. She kept on mumbling something, but I couldn't hear the words.

I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder. When I looked over, Levy was standing by me.

"I was able to enhance just enough sound to get some of the words." she informed quietly.

I nodded in response then looked down at Erza. I wanted to go with Levy and hear what the idiot that Ultear was with had said to Erza, but I didn't want to leave her.

"I'll be right back..." Levy said, then quickly left.

A few minutes later, she came back with cassette and gave it to me.

"You can listen to it later. I downloaded the conversation onto this tape." she informed me.

"Thank you Levy." I said, taking the cassette out of her hand and putting it in my pocket.

Levy went back to her office, leaving me alone with Erza.

"Erza..." I said after a while, "Do you want to go to your office?" I asked.

I felt her nod against my chest. She shakily stood up, and I stood up after her. I told Meredy where we were going, then we left. When we were in the elevator, Erza sat down in the corner. I stayed standing and leaned against the wall. When we got up to the fourth floor, I helped Erza up, and brought her to her office.

She sat down in the chair that was in the corner of the room. Erza curled into a ball and buried her face in her arms. Soon enough, she was softly snoring. I quickly went to my office, and grabbed a cassette player and headphones, then I went back to Erza's office. I sat in the chair behind her desk, and plugged in my headphones, then I put the cassette into the player.

It started at the beginning of the interrogation.

_"Do you know anything about Wendy and Grandine Marvel?" Erza asked._

_"I know that they're in the hospital because of a car accident." the man retorted._

_"Do you know the person that was in the passengers seat?" Erza quizzed._

_"Maybe I do. Maybe I don't. What's his name?" the man answered._

_"I don't know what his name is, but I'm sure you don't really need his name." she responded coolly._

_"Are you sure that you're a trained F.T.B.I. agent? From the looks of it, you're just a hopeless little girl." he laughed._

There was a long pause.

_"Oh? Did I hit a sore spot?" he tested. I could hear a soft whisper, "...look pathetic ...think...covering the scars... help? It won't...will always...weak and pathetic."_

Oh God...

I took of my headphones and tossed the cassette player to the side. I sighed and leaned forward, resting my head in my hands.

There was a soft knock at the door. I looked up and saw Meredy.

"Hi..." she started.

"How'd the interrogation go?" I asked.

"It went fine... For a while..." she answered, "Then he insulted Ultear again, and mentioned something about crappy agents... So... Now Ultear is talking to Director Makarov..." Meredy replied hesitantly.

"That guy deserved it," I retorted.

"You listened to the cassette?" she questioned.

I nodded.

"What did he say?" she asked.

"He called her weak and pathetic.." my voice was hoarse.

"Oh... Well... I should probably go help bail Ultear out of trouble..." she mumbled.

"Alright... Good luck." I sighed as she left.

**(Erza's POV)**

_"Get up!" my father shouted soon after slamming me to the ground._

_I had tried getting up... I physically couldn't get up. My father kicked my leg, hard. This was one of the few times I actually screamed in pain. I screamed in pain because this was one of those times I couldn't hold it back._

_My father had rage reflecting in his eyes. He kicked me in the stomach as hard as he could, causing me to throw up._

_"You are so pitiful!" my father shouted, "A weak, useless bitch! Just like your mother was before she left us!"_

_Tears stung my eyes, but I wasn't allowed to shed them. I quickly wiped my eyes so he wouldn't see. My father had always told me that I was the reason my mother left us, and I believed him. Nobody'd think that their parents would tell a lie._

My eyes shot open. I flinched when I forgot where I was for a moment. When I looked over, I saw Jellal looking at me worriedly.

"What?" I asked, a little harsher than planned.

Jellal quickly broke eye contact, and mumbled, "Nothing..."

I glanced down at my feet, and mumbled to myself, "I'm so pathetic..."

"Quit telling yourself that," Jellal retorted.

"You want me to bury myself in lies?" I quizzed.

"Of course not, so quit calling yourself pathetic." Jellal answered.

I opened my mouth to respond, but closed it almost right away.

"I'll be right back..." I muttered, then quickly left the room.

I practically ran to the elevator and went down to the main floor. After I got out of the building, I paced around in front of it.

There was probably a million thoughts that ran through my head, but only two stuck.

_Why did it matter to Jellal whether or not I called myself pathetic?_

_I am pathetic._

After pacing, I leaned against the building and thought about what had happened in the interrogation room. My eyes widened as I suddenly realized one of the possibilities. I quickly ran back up to my office, where Jellal was still sitting in my chair.

"Are there any recordings of the interrogation?" I asked immediately.

"Voice, or one with image and voice?" Jellal asked.

"Both." I replied.

"Well I have just the voice one right here..." he trailed off as he grabbed a cassette player, "Levy should have the other one."

"Okay, can you get it for me?" I asked.

"Yeah...?" he sounded confused, but got up to go get it anyways.

I took his seat and grabbed the cassette player, then listened to it around five times before he returned.

Jellal handed me a disc, and I immediately put into the computer.

"Levy is awesome, I'll have to thank her..." I said to myself.

"Would you mind telling me what this is all about?" Jellal quizzed.

I turned to him, "Well..." I hesitated for a moment, "Screw it... You probably already heard it on the voice recording..." I decided, "I realized that he must've been working off of some sort of script. He seemed to know that calling me weak, would effect me. The thing I was wondering was, how did he know it'd affect me? I usually try hiding my weaknesses. Then, it hit me. The only way someone would know that calling me weak would effect me, is if my father or I told them. Only, why would I tell someone my own weakness? I wouldn't." I took a deep breath at the end of the sentence.

"That's a good interpretation." Jellal commented, "Do you want me to go talk to Ultear, Meredy and Natsu?"

"Yes please." I replied, "Where is Ultear and Meredy anyways?"

"Um... Ultear got into big trouble during the interrogation... Just remember to never insult Ultear when she's already been pissed off twice that day." Jellal answered.

"I'll keep that in mind." I responded.

Jellal left the room and came back around ten minutes later, with Ultear, Meredy, and... Gray?

"Ultear has to have someone with her all the time... But it can't be you, me, or Jellal, Makarov doesn't trust us with that task anymore." Meredy explained.

"Okay...?" I responded, confused.

"Anyways... Jellal told us that you think your father might be behind this." Ultear interrupted.

"Yes. Um.. As I was telling Jellal, a few of the things that this idiot said to me just so happened to be something to bring out one of my weaknesses. Well... It actually is my weakness. Anyways, my father was the only other one to know that it'd tear me down, so I think the guy that we were interrogating, might have gotten some sort of script from my father." I explained, again, taking a deep breath afterwards.

"Okay." Meredy sighed.

"Wait.. So you were interrogating someone who might know the person who's behind the Marvel case, right?" Gray clarified.

"Yes." I answered.

"So the guy that was in the passengers seat... Wasn't he hoping to kill someone? That someone being you..." Gray pointed out.

"Most likely." I replied simply.

"Why would your father want to kill you?" he asked.

_Right... He probably doesn't know anything about my past..._

"Because I'm the one who got him arrested." I answered.

"Oh... That would tick someone off..." he commented.

"Yeah," I replied.

"Wait... Didn't you say that your car got destroyed?" Ultear asked.

"Yeah...?" I answered.

"Your father could've destroyed it, hoping to catch you walking to or home from work," Ultear pointed out.

"I wouldn't doubt that," I responded.

"I'd recommend that you don't go anywhere alone," Ultear informed.

"I doubt that Jellal would let me go anywhere alone because that would involve me walking, and he doesn't like it when I walk places," I replied, causing Jellal to turn bright red.

He quickly looked away, which made Ultear and Meredy laugh.

"Umm... Okay..." I started.

"Do you seriously not see-" Meredy started, but quickly cut herself off.

I rolled my eyes, "I'm going to go get something to eat."

"Something or Strawberry cake?" Ultear quizzed.

"Strawberry cake." I replied.

We left the room and went up to the cafeteria. I got strawberry cake, Jellal got fries again, Ultear got chicken and shared with Meredy, while Gray said he wasn't hungry. Levy came and sat down by us.

"I printed information about Erza's father." Levy informed.

"Okay... Thanks for the recordings by the way." I responded.

"No problem. Oh I printed a copy for each of you, so you don't have to share," she added.

She passed out folders that had four sheets of paper in each. I opened the folder and on the top sheet of paper, was a list of everything my father's done bad. He had seven D.W.I's, he got into twenty-eight bar fights, there was also child abuse, and the murder of twelve people.

My eyes widened, "That asshole murdered twelve people!"

Also on that sheet was all his personal information, like his date of birth, full name, and how many times he had to go to court.

"Wait... Child abuse?" Gray exclaimed.

I awkwardly looked down.

"Ow! Ultear!" Gray suddenly exclaimed.

"Shut up Gray..." she muttered.

"Uh... S-sorry..." he mumbled.

I glanced up, "It's fine."

"Anyways... Twelve murders is a lot. I mean... It's not uncommon, but it's still a lot." Gray commented.

"Yeah..." I agreed quietly.

"How many times did you visit the hospital?" Ultear asked, receiving a glare from Jellal.

"Umm... Five times a week... Four if I was lucky," I answered hesitantly.

"How did nobody find out?" Meredy exclaimed.

"Lies upon lies," I replied, "The most common one being, I got beat up at school."

"It says here, on your hospital records, that 64% of the times you went to the hospital, the reasoning was that you got beat up," Levy announced quietly.

I looked over, and saw that she was on her laptop.

"What's the other 36%?" I asked.

"15% of it... Your mother got blamed. Then, 1% of the time was, your father brought you to a bar with him and ended up in the middle of a bar fight..." Levy trailed off.

"That one's actually true... A few times, that did happen. The one about my mother isn't even close. She left us when I was six," I commented, "There's still twenty percent left."

"The final twenty percent..." she scrolled down on her screen, "There's no reasoning."

"That's a shocker... I don't remember a single time whereas he didn't give an excuse." I mentioned.

Levy suddenly flinched, "What the hell just happened?" she exclaimed.

"What?" I questioned.

"All of your medical records just disappeared," she muttered.

"How?" Meredy asked, probably not expecting an answer.

"I'll be right back, I'm going to go to Macao about it," she mumbled, then got up and left, taking the computer with her.

"Erza, Lucy says you need to answer your phone!" Natsu called over to me, from across the cafeteria.

I rolled my eyes, "Why can't she just talk to you?" I called back.

"She says your car is currently being shoveled off the road... It got smashed up even more." Natsu informed loudly.

"I was going to get a new car anyways..." I groaned, "Is that all she wanted to say?"

"I'm kind of scared to give the final message..." Natsu muttered.

"What? If she text you, hand me the phone. If she called you, tell her to text you what it is, then hang up and hand me the phone." I retorted.

Natsu quickly came over, handed me his phone, then went to the other side of the table.

"I'm all out of strawberry cake? I had four whole cakes left this morning! Wait... How would she know? Natsu! You're supposed to keep her at your house!" I exclaimed.

"S-s-s-sorry..." he stuttered.

I rolled my eyes, "Go get her..."

"Aye sir!" he replied then dashed off.

"I'll have to remind him _not_ to call me 'sir'..." I mumbled.

"You're really making him go get his girlfriend, and drag her here?" Meredy questioned.

"Yes." I answered simply.

"Aye sir..." she muttered under her breath.

I sighed and let my head drop onto the table, causing Meredy to shriek in surprise and for Ultear to laugh at her.

"If you copy Natsu again... I will begin to look down on you." I muttered, which made Ultear laugh more.

"Aye... I mean... Okay." Meredy mumbled hesitantly, then she hit Ultear.

I suddenly felt something on the seat, to my left. I turned my head and flinched when I saw Natsu's blue cat.

My eyes widened in surprise, "Why the hell did Natsu leave his cat here?" I exclaimed, then quickly crawled to my right, crawling over Jellal and sitting on his other side, "Keep that stupid cat away from me... He's evil... And mean."

Jellal laughed, "And you aren't?"

"He stole my cake... My strawberry cake..." I whined, "Wait..." I leaned over Jellal and grabbed my plate, pulling it towards me. I glared at Natsu's cat, Happy.

"Why is the cat blue?" Ultear asked, obviously not trying to laugh at my random freak out.

"According to Natsu, it's a rare type called an Exceed." I muttered, not breaking my gaze from the cat.

"Erza!" I heard Lucy's up high pitched voice and I quickly shoved myself under the table, "Erza... Come out from under the table..." she whined.

I rolled my eyes and crawled back onto my seat. I turned and faced Lucy.

"Where's Natsu?" I asked.

"He ran off somewhere." she answered.

"Then you can take his damn cat." I retorted.

"What has Happy ever done to you?" she asked while picking up the cat.

"He ate my cake! You should know, you were there!" I exclaimed.

"Oh yeah..." she sighed.

"You need to stay at Natsu's. You can't go back to our house." I stated.

"But I was worried about you." she whined.

"Quit worrying about me. I have about ten swords and two guns hidden in the house-" I started.

Her eyes widened in surprise, "I thought you only had the one sword!" she exclaimed.

"You haven't found the others yet? Wow... You're oblivious..." I muttered.

I heard Ultear mutter something to Meredy, "I think Erza's the oblivious one..."

"Or Jellal..." Meredy mumbled back.

Lucy glanced over at Meredy, Gray, and Ultear curiously.

"I've heard all about Jellal, but Erza hasn't told me about you three. Natsu told me Jellal's name though, Erza wouldn't." she half mumbled.

I stomped on her foot as hard as I could.

"Erza!" she exclaimed.

"What? I blame it on the cat." I retorted.

"Yes the cat, that I'm holding, stomped on my foot..." she said sarcastically.

"Glad you agree. Anyways, the one that's forcing herself not to laugh, is Ultear, the one with pink hair, is Meredy, and the one that just randomly stripped, is Gray." I informed.

Gray suddenly grew red with embarrassment.

"So... Erza told you about Jellal?" Meredy questioned Lucy.

"Yeah, she told me about him a couple of times." Lucy answered.

I blushed and turned away from everyone. Although, I made one mistake. I looked at my arms, and began tracing the larger scars with my fingers

Lucy suddenly gasped, causing all my attention to shoot to her.

"You never told me that you had that many scars! You only said that your father gave you a few an-" she started.

I kicked her ankle as hard as I could, cutting her off. She immediately lifted her leg.

"Ow!" she exclaimed.

"Don't say another word about it, or I'll kick your other ankle too." I threatened.

She nodded, "Got it... Not another word..."

"Good." I half growled, then stood up, and walked away.

I sat down at a table, away from them. Levy ran out of the elevator and over to me.

"Please tell me that you guys still have those sheets I gave you!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, they're over at the other table... Why?" I replied.

"Your father's criminal records have disappeared," she explained, "There must be someone hacking into the system!" she exclaimed, causing the cafeteria to fall silent.

I glanced back at Lucy, and the others. Lucy looked scared, Ultear and Jellal looked shocked, and Meredy and Gray looked both shocked and scared, not as much scared.

"Are you saying that someone could've actually hacked into the systems?" Gray practically exclaimed.

"Yes, all of Erza's fathers information just suddenly disappeared, so did almost everything about Erza." Levy sounded stressed.

"Ultear, do you know where that guy from earlier is?" I asked.

"Yeah, Mira has him in her office. He's all bandaged up and can't walk." Ultear answered.

"Good. I still want to talk to him," I replied then got up and went to the elevator.

I went down, to the floor that Mira's office was on. Quickly, I walked down to Mira's office. Luckily, Mira wasn't there. Just the guy from earlier. I picked him up and slammed him against the wall.

"You know who my father is, don't you?" I half growled.

His only response was a smirk, but that's all I needed.

"That's what I thought. Where is my father?" I retorted, glaring at him.

"Why should I tell you, bitch?" he laughed.

"Where is he?" I asked again, a hint of anger in my voice.

"That friend of yours sure is strong..." he commented.

I punched his arm, "I asked you where my father was... Answer the question."

"No thanks." he retorted.

After twenty more tries, and about thirty more punches, he was unconscious. Mira came into the room and gasped.

"Again? First Ultear knocks him out and now you!" she exclaimed.

"He should learn to answer questions..." I muttered.

"You and Ultear must not know how to use words..." Mira commented, "I mean, I hate this bitch too, but... Really? You had to knock him out?"

"Well... I didn't plan on knocking him out..." I muttered.

She sighed, "I'll take care of him, let's just not tell Makarov about it..."

I nodded in agreement, then left the room. When I got back to the cafeteria, Jellal was waiting for me. I walked over to him, and sat down next to him.

"Where are the others?" I asked.

"They went to Gray's office. They said something about another case." Jellal answered.

"Oh." I replied, glancing down at my hands.

Suddenly, I realized that they were bruised and I had blood on the knuckles. I awkwardly put my hands under the table.

"Um.. Should we go down to Gray's office then?" I suggested.

"Yeah," Jellal nodded his head.

We went into the elevator and went down to the field agents floor.

"Do you know what this case is about?" I asked.

"Drug dealers at a prom." Jellal answered, "Or something like that..."

"You weren't really paying attention, were you?" I quizzed.

"I was lost in thought." he replied.

"What were you thinking about?" I asked.

"The fact that you have a different last name than both your parents." he stated.

"Oh... Right... I originally had my father's last name... Then he 'disowned' me and changed my last name, but kept me living with him." I replied hesitantly.

We got off the elevator and onto the fourth floor.

"That sounds awful..." Jellal commented as we began walking to Gray's office, which wasn't too far from the elevator.

"Oh good, you two are finally here." Gray interrupted.

"Yeah, sorry to keep you waiting." I apologized.

"That's fine." Gray replied, "Anyways... I'm sure Jellal told you about the new case..." he started.

I nodded, waiting for him to go on.

"Okay, so this new one is a bunch of drug dealers. There's a group of drug dealers, and they somehow find a way to blend in at High School proms. Since we are the youngest looking agents, we should be able to blend in too." Gray informed.

"So we're going to a prom? Like, an actual school dance?" I questioned, panic in my voice.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine." Jellal assured me.

"Yeah, you're the youngest and the prettiest out of all of us." Meredy added.

I let out a shaky breath, that I didn't even know I was holding in, "Okay..."

"Alright... So when is the prom?" Meredy asked.

"Well... Today's a Thursday... So tomorrow night..." Gray responded hesitantly.

"Okay, so what about money for dresses?" Meredy quizzed.

"Mira is taking care of the clothes." Gray answered.

"The question is... Will Gray wear his clothes?" Ultear stated mockingly.

"I don't strip _that _often!" Gray exclaimed.

"Oh really?" Ultear tested, "Then tell me, Gray... Where are your clothes right now?"

Gray looked down, then his face immediately became red with embarrassment, which only gave Ultear a reason to laugh at him.

"That was just too perfect..." Meredy muttered.

Gray sighed and quickly put his clothes back on.

"Have you ever thought about seeing a therapist?" Ultear asked in between laughs.

"What? No!" Gray exclaimed, "That's just too weird! 'Oh yeah, I'm here for my stripping problem...' Sorry, but I'll pass!"

That's one answer... If you want Ultear to laugh at you even more.

"Ignoring Ultear... Go to Mira if you don't want her to mess up on sizes." Gray added.

"Sucks to be you... You're stuck with Ultear. Remember it's _her _punishment." Meredy taunted.

"Or at least, it's supposed to be." I muttered.

**What did you think? Was it good? Was it bad? Leave a review please! **


	8. Chapter 7

It was Friday night, and we were on our way to that stupid High School prom. I was wearing a purple one-strapped dress that went down to my knees, while Ultear was wearing a sparkly, black, strapless dress that fell to her knees, and Meredy was wearing a long, red, sparkly, double strapped dress that went to her ankles.

Meredy's hair was curled and pulled back into a ponytail, leaving her bangs and some extra hair edging her bangs, down. Ultear had her hair french-braided and also left her bangs and some hair framing her bangs, down. Along with that, she had a white headband that complimented her pale skin. I left my hair how it usually was, not wanting to do anything fancy for a stupid dance.

Meanwhile, Natsu, Gray, and Jellal were all wearing black tuxes, with ties that matched our dresses. Since Gray had to stay by Ultear, he had a black tie. Natsu had a red tie, to match Meredy's dress. While Jellal, had a dark purple tie, to match my dress.

I have no idea who decided that Ultear was allowed to drive us there, but my head hurt from her suddenly stopping, and I'd hit my head against the seat. I'm sure Meredy, Jellal, Natsu and Gray also had sore heads. Gray also probably had a sore back because Gray was sitting in the middle up front, and Jellal was sitting in the middle in the back. Well Jellal didn't really have a seat to hit his head on. He had Gray's back. My head could hurt worse though, but a few times, just as Ultear hit the breaks, Jellal's arm would shoot out in front of me, preventing me from hitting my head.

When we got to the schools parking lot, we realized that Ultear's parking skills were ten times worse than her driving.

"What changed in your driving?" I asked, "On our way to the hospital... You were... A _good_ driver and good at parking."

"Oh I did this on purpose tonight. It's mostly because Gray is here." she replied, then got out of the car.

We filed out of the car after her. I suddenly became very self-conscious about my scars and half myself behind Jellal.

"You'll be fine." he assured me.

"Now, even though Director Makarov made the school sign something so we aren't responsible for any fights that our agents are in, there is _no _starting fights. If someone hits you, you can hit them in return, but don't just hit someone because they say something that pisses you off." Gray informed sternly, looking directly at Ultear.

Ultear rolled her eyes, "Fine... Can I say something to make them hit me?" she asked.

"No. That counts as starting a fight." Gray retorted.

"Dammit..." she muttered, "I'll obey the rules this time, since they are high schoolers."

"Yeah, and you're old." Meredy teased.

"I'm twenty-six..." she muttered, staring at Meredy blankly.

"And I'm twenty-three! Glad we got that settled!" Meredy responded cheerfully.

Gray, becoming impatient, rolled his eyes, "Let's go inside."

The six of us walked to the entrance of the building. There was a long line of people, slowly filing inside.

"Okay, Ultear, remember to be more like Meredy tonight..." Gray reminded sternly.

"Yeah yeah... Whatever..." she muttered.

I had to force myself not to laugh as Ultear turned away from him and plugged her ears.

"Ultear!" Gray exclaimed.

"Sorry, can't hear you right now. Please leave a message after the beep." she said in a monotone voice, "Beeeeeeep." her voice changed into a higher pitch.

"I don't see why _I _was put in charge of her... She doesn't even listen to me..." Gray sighed.

"That's an invalid message, please leave a new one." Ultear interrupted.

"What? Ultear pay attention!" Gray ordered.

"Sorry... Invalid. You did not state what I need to pay attention to or why." she retorted.

"Pay attention to what I'm saying, because this way, we won't have to pay for any damage!" Gray exclaimed.

Ultear unplugged her ears, "Fine, what do you want to say?" she quizzed.

"Just, be the opposite of you tonight..." he sighed.

"Can you have me do something that's actually possible?" Ultear asked.

"Nope. You're going to have to make it possible." Gray retorted.

Before we knew it, we were actually inside the school gymnasium. We mostly stuck to the side of the gym. It would be too weird to dance with who everyone assumed were our dates. Gray and Ultear weren't getting along, Natsu already had a girlfriend, and well... Then there was me and Jellal.

Still being uncomfortable, I stuck close to Jellal's side. Not only was I showing all the scars on my arms, but I was also showing all the scars on my legs. Almost everyone that passed, gave me weird looks, which made me even more uncomfortable. I'd either get weird looks, or loud conversations would turn into people talking in hushed voices. Or they could be idiots and say whatever they wanted, loudly.

"Who's the freak? No wonder why I never noticed she went to our school!" a guy with platinum brown hair exclaimed.

"No clue, I wish I never even noticed her tonight!" a guy with purple hair replied loudly.

"The other two girls are hot though..." the platinum brown haired guy muttered loudly, receiving a glare from Ultear.

"Okay... Maybe just the girl with pink hair..." he decided.

Yet another glare from Ultear.

The guys just laughed and walked away.

I shifted, putting myself partially behind Jellal.

"Erza, don't listen to them, they're just a couple of idiots." Jellal told me.

I shuffled further behind him. He turned around to face me.

"You look beau-" he cut himself off, "You look just fine."

I nodded in response, but for some reason, I felt like crying.

"I'm going to go outside for a little bit..." I mumbled, then left just as some tears spilled out of my eyes.

I sat on a bench just outside the school, tears streaming down my face, flinching when someone sat down by me, mostly because I knew it wasn't Jellal that sat down by me. When I glanced up, I saw a guy with dusty brown hair sitting by me. Awkwardly, I scooted to the very edge of the bench.

"Why are you out here crying alone?" he asked.

I wiped my tears away and glared at him, "None of your damn business."

"That's not a way to talk to someone that wants to help you." he responded.

"I don't want help." I retorted.

"You don't mean that..." he trailed off and scooted closer to me.

"Yes I do! Now get away from me!" I exclaimed, standing up.

He stood up after me. I hesitated for a moment, then punched him in the stomach. He clutched his stomach.

"What the hell?" he exclaimed.

"Go away." I retorted.

He stumbled away, and soon after, Jellal came outside.

"Erza, are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah.. I'm fine." I replied.

"Have you been crying?" he asked as he got closer to me.

"N-no.." I lied.

"So you haven't been crying, but you have tear stains?" he questioned, "What's wrong?"

I turned away from him as tears began to roll down my face again.

"You wouldn't care..." I muttered.

"Erza, don't say that..." he responded softly and I heard him take a step closer to me.

"Why won't you just admit that you like me?" I shouted, "Is it that bad to admit you like a pathetic wimp like me?" I had tears streaming down my face once again.

I fell to my knees and cried into my hands.

Jellal knelt down by me.

"You aren't pathetic or a wimp, Erza." he stated softly, "I wouldn't admit it because if you didn't feel the same way, I'd be heartbroken."

I wiped away my tears, and forced back some other tears. I looked back at him. He stood up and held out his hand for me. I grabbed his hand, and pulled myself up.

Jellal put his hand on my face and used his thumb to wipe away some tears that had escaped. He hesitated for a moment, then leaned down and kissed me.

When he pulled away, I was smiling. I hugged him tightly, only to jump when I heard Ultear.

"Finally! It took you two long enough!" she exclaimed.

"Ultear! Would you like to explain how you got drunk within an hour?" Gray exclaimed, "Especially since, I doubt that they'd have alcohol at a school dance!"

She laughed, "You should know! I hid the beer in your jacket!"

I rolled my eyes and kissed Jellal again, taking him by surprise.

"Who were you yelling at before I came outside?" Jellal asked after I pulled back.

"Some idiot that sat by me." I answered.

"Please don't say you punched him, just to get rid of him..." Gray pleaded.

"Well if you go inside the school, you won't have to hear me tell Jellal." I offered.

He rolled his eyes, "Not helping..."

We went back inside, after realizing that we had ditched Natsu and Meredy. The six of us stood at the edge of the gymnasium in silence for a while. Jellal suddenly broke the silence between us when a slow song came on.

"Erza, will you dance with me?" Jellal asked.

I smiled and nodded in response, knowing words would fail me. He took me by the hand and led me onto the dance floor.

I blinked for a minute, wishing I could be as graceful as the people on TV. As I imagined how it must feel to have the world spin around you while you twirl, or how it felt to fly through the air in a leap, or even how to just have a general rhythm to the movement of my feet.

Before I knew what was happening I was swirling around in the beat the music gave me, gliding around on the floor as if I'd always belonged on it. Even though I was unsure of when my daydream had crossed into reality, I knew I was doing the steps right, and I could feel that the music emphasized my every move. Pride made me smile, and I was glowing with joy.

**(AN: I did not write this description for the slow dance, I just simply edited someone's example on Yahoo answers...)**

Just at the end of the song, Jellal leaned down and kissed me, making me blush. When the song was over, Jellal brought me back to Meredy, Natsu, Ultear and Gray.

"That's was so adorable!" Meredy shrieked with joy, causing me to jump.

Ultear nodded in agreement.

"Jellal, how do you do it?" Natsu exclaimed, "You can make Erza look un-scary!"

"Okay... So has anyone kept their attention on the real reason we're here?" Gray interrupted.

Ultear nonchalantly hit him in the stomach, "Shut up... They're being adorable."

"Umm... Okay then... Has anybody at least noticed anything suspicious?" Gray asked.

"The guy I yelled at earlier seemed like he was high or something." I pointed out, "Or he was just an idiot..."

"Do you know where he went?" Gray quizzed.

"Of course not, I don't stalk the people I punch..." I muttered.

Gray rolled his eyes, "What did he look like?"

"My height, with short, spiky, dusty brown hair." I explained.

"Okay, everyone keep an eye out for that guy..." Gray mumbled.

"Aye sir!" Meredy exclaimed.

We all looked at Ultear, "Did you give Meredy some beer too?" Gray asked.

"No, she grabbed the beer when I wasn't looking..." Ultear responded.

"That's not helping..." Gray mumbled.

Suddenly, a bunch of news reporters came filing into the gymnasium, causing us to fall silent.

One of the reporters was saying something into a camera.

"This is the very school where there is supposedly some drug dealers..." he went on, but I shut his voice out.

"How the hell did the information get out?" Gray whispered loudly.

"No clue, none of us even had to deal with the press for while." Ultear responded.

The next thing we knew, teachers were evacuating students from the gymnasium.

"Oh shit... This isn't good..." Ultear muttered.

Ultear and Gray quickly ran over to stop people from evacuating.

"You four need to leave." someone informed from behind us.

We turned around to face him.

"It's okay, we're part of the F.T.B.I." Meredy responded, taking out her badge. Jellal, Natsu and I did the same.

"Show me your damn student ID!" Ultear shouted from across the gym.

We turned around in time to see the person she was yelling at start running away from her. She immediately ran after him. Just as he was about to leave through the back entrance, she grabbed him by the arm and slammed him against the door frame.

Meredy left to go help Gray at the main entrance. Seeing a flash of silver out of the corner of my eye, I instinctively turned, shoving Jellal to the side and drawing my gun. I pointed my gun at the man, the one who had told us we needed to evacuate, the one who happened to be holding a knife.

"Drop the weapon." I ordered.

Instead of dropping the knife, he threw it and it stabbed into my hand. He probably expected me to drop my gun, but I didn't. I just glared at him. Instead, I pointed the gun lower and shot his foot.

Jellal took over and shoved him against the wall, then pulled his hands behind his back, and latched on a pair of handcuffs.

I gripped the knife that was sticking out of my hand and yanked it out.

"Fuck..." I muttered.

Jellal looked back at me, briefly, "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah I'm fine. I'm going to go help Ultear." I replied, ripping off the strap of my dress and securely wrapping it around my hand.

By now, Ultear was dealing with two more guys, who were trying to help their friend. Once I was near them, I noticed that a fat, but muscular guy with long brown hair, had Ultear pinned against the wall. He was holding her wrists, while the other guy kicked her.

I ran over and immediately punched the one that was kicking her. He glared at me, and tripped me, then kicked me. Or he tried to. I grabbed his foot and twisted it, causing him to twist and fall. I quickly grabbed the handcuffs that were tucked in the strap around my thigh, that was hidden beneath the dress.

Yanking his hands behind his back, I latched the handcuffs around his wrists. When I turned around, Ultear had freed herself and was handcuffing the other guy.

By the time the cops showed up, Ultear was screaming at the reporters, while Jellal, Natsu, Gray, Meredy and I were rounding up the people we had caught and bringing them to the police cars.

After talking to one of the police officers, Jellal came over to me

"How's your hand?" he asked.

"Bleeding." I answered.

Jellal smiled, "Any answers that are less vague?"

"In pain?" I suggested.

"Well you _did_ get stabbed..." he commented.

"I wonder how the reporters found out about the drug dealers..." I mumbled.

"I wonder about that too..." Jellal murmured.

I grimaced when I bent my fingers, causing my temporary 'bandage' to press against my wound. The knife had gone diagonally through my hand, so it had gone through my knuckles and came out by my palm. Carefully unwrapping the 'bandage' from my wound, Jellal investigated my wound.

"You'll have to see a doctor about that." Jellal stated the obvious.

When he received no response, he looked me in the eye and asked, "You _were_ planning on seeing a doctor, right?"

"Yeah," I lied, forcing myself not to break eye contact.

I wasn't planning on going to see a doctor. I hated doctors. They could never tell lies from truth. Not with me at least.

Jellal wrapped my hand back up, then lightly kissed my forehead.

After a few moments of silence, getting the feeling that I was being watched, I tensed up. Jellal gave me a questioning look.

I shook my head, "It's nothing... I just got a weird feeling, that's all."

He nodded in understanding, "Let's go wait for the others, at Ultear's car."

We walked to Ultear's car, where Natsu and Meredy were already waiting. I looked back towards the school, and saw Gray trying to pull Ultear away from the reporters.

"Should we go help him?" I asked.

"Nah, it makes an interesting show!" Meredy responded loudly.

I laughed, and Jellal and I leaned against the car. Once Ultear and Gray finally got to the car, we all got in. The way back to the agency was completely different than on the way to the High School. Mostly because Ultear wasn't driving, Gray was.

Jellal put his arm around me and I curled up against him.

Another car, suddenly smashed into the side of Ultear's car. The side that I was on. The door indented in, towards me and the glass shattered down onto me. My right foot got crushed by the door and I screamed in pain. Meredy was experiencing the same thing in the front seat, the only difference is, her arm got caught between the door and her seat, not her foot.

The cars slowly began to start on fire, and Jellal tried to help me tug my foot free. Meanwhile, Ultear was trying to help Meredy tug her arm free. Some sparks from the fire, landed on my arm and I grimaced.

I eventually wrenched my foot free from between the indented car door and the torn up seat. Jellal and Natsu pulled me out of the car, just as Ultear and Gray were pulling Meredy out.

Just after we got out, Ultear's car went up in flames. We quickly went farther away from the car and Ultear called an ambulance.

When the ambulance got there, I listened to Ultear talking to the paramedics.

"That would've been very bad if you kids were still in there." he stated the obvious.

"No shit! My car's on fire and could fucking blow up at any second!" Ultear snapped, "Not only that, but Erza got her foot smashed and Meredy got her arm crushed and they both got burned!"

"It's not _that _bad..." I muttered.

"Just let Ultear get her rage out." Jellal murmured.

I nodded in response and sat down on the sidewalk.

_Dammit! My hand really fucking hurts! So does my foot... But my hand hurts more! _

_On a different note... Could my father have been behind what had happened tonight?_

I looked up at Meredy, who was standing by the ambulance, clutching her arm.

_In a way, this is my fault. Isn't it? If I had never have called the cops on my father, he would've never been arrested, and wouldn't be seeking revenge on me right now... And Meredy wouldn't be injured._

"Don't blame yourself." Jellal's voice interrupted my thoughts.

When I looked over, I saw Jellal standing by me.

"I wasn't blaming myself," I lied, forcing myself not to show the signs of a liar.

"That's a lie. I have seen the expression of someone blaming themselves, hundreds of times," he retorted, "It wasn't your fault."

I sighed, "How can you be so sure?"

"I can't, but blaming yourself won't help stop things." he answered truthfully.

"I suppose you're right..." I mumbled.

"You still need your injuries looked at," he stated, then picked me up before I could protest.

He brought me over to one of the paramedics and set me down. Jellal informed him about what my wounds were.

"She had her right foot crushed and earlier today, she had her hand stabbed."

"Alright, I'd like to see the hand injury first." the paramedic responded, turning to me.

I unwrapped the temporary 'bandage' from my hand, which was covered in blood. I flinched when he grabbed my hand to look at better.

"You will need stitches on your hand." the paramedic informed.

Suddenly feeling like I was being watched again, I froze and glanced behind me.

"Erza, are you okay?" Jellal asked, causing me to jump.

"Y-yeah..." I responded, turning my attention back to the paramedic.

After he had checked my wounds, and I found out that my foot was badly bruised, Natsu, Meredy, Jellal, and I went back to the agency. Meanwhile, Ultear chose to stay and watch her car get destroyed. Soon after getting to the agency, Jellal brought me home.

"Good night, Erza." Jellal said as I got out of his car.

"Good night. See you tomorrow at seven?" I clarified.

"Tomorrow at seven." he replied.

I smiled, "Just so you know... Despite getting injured, I had a great night."

"I'm glad to hear that." he replied.

I shut his car door and waved goodbye, then went inside my house. When I got in my house, I leaned against the wall and replayed the nights events in my head.

**So... What did you think? I'm not sure I like how Erza and Jellal ended up together, so I might change that a bit. Let me know if you think I should change it, and please be honest. Oh, and if any of you have your own FanFics that you want me to check out, I'd be more than happy to read them!**


	9. Chapter 8

**Hey guys! I'm a day late for this, but that's okay, right? Thank you to those who followed and favorited this story, and Happy Birthday Kayleigh1789! Anyways, enjoy the chapter!**

I woke up to my alarm at 6:30am. After remembering the night before, I got out of bed and hot dressed. I wore a long-sleeved, black turtleneck and some skinny jeans, then I put on my usual knee-high, black boots.

Deciding, once again, that I wasn't hungry, I sat down in the living room and waited. Ten minutes later, there was a knock on my front door. I opened the door to find Ultear.

"Wasn't Meredy going to give you a ride?" I asked.

"She had a flat tire, so I walked here. Jellal is going to need to pick up Meredy, too." she responded.

"Okay..." I replied just as Jellal's car pulled up, in front of my house.

Jellal rolled down the passengers window, "Ultear, you could've just called me like Meredy did!" he called out.

"But I didn't want to stay at home any longer than I usually did." Ultear retorted.

"It would only be five minutes longer..." Jellal pointed out, then shook his head, "Never mind... Just get in, I don't want to be late."

I got into the passengers seat and Ultear got in the back, where Meredy was.

"Hi!" Meredy exclaimed cheerfully.

"Hi Meredy." I greeted.

"Hi Mer." Ultear greeted.

Meredy glared at her, "If I can't call you Ul, you can't call me Mer."

"Fine... Mer." Ultear responded, sticking her tongue out.

"Okay... Anyways... Our team is no longer on the Neumann case, also known as the case with Erza's father. Makarov put a different team on that case." Jellal informed.

"What? Why?" Ultear and I exclaimed.

"He doesn't think Natsu and Erza should start out with a harder case." he answered.

I sighed.

"So... Do we have a new case?" Ultear asked.

"Yes. Although, I don't want to have to explain more than once, so you're going to have to wait until we get to the agency." Jellal replied.

Ultear rolled her eyes and leaned back in her seat, folding her arms across her chest. I just stared out the window, straight ahead, showing no emotion. Every once in a while, I could feel Jellal's concerned gaze burning into me, but obviously, he'd end up looking away, since he was the driver.

I almost didn't realize it when we were at the agency. When I did realize it, Ultear, Meredy, and Jellal were out of the car, waiting for me.

When out of the car, I shut the door behind me and followed the other three into the building and up to the cafeteria, where Gray and Natsu were waiting(fighting).

They were, literally, three inches away from each other, glaring and yelling at each other.

"Shut up Flame-face!" Gray shouted.

"Make me, Ice Princess!" Natsu retorted.

I walked over to them and shoved them away from each other.

"Enough." I grumbled, turning around to go back to Jellal.

Although, as I turned around, I accidentally shoved Natsu and sent him staggering backwards. I laughed and quickly walked away. Standing next to Jellal, he casually rested his arm across my shoulders.

"Okay... Now that Erza got them to shut up..." Jellal began.

"Jellal gets to tell us what our new case is." Ultear interrupted.

Jellal rolled his eyes and continued, "This new case-" he started.

Natsu's attention suddenly turned to us, "Wait, we have a new case? What is it?" he asked.

Before Jellal could respond, I did, "Shut up, sit down and listen."

Natsu sat on the ground where he was and looked up at us. I shook my head.

"As I was saying..." Jellal gave an exaggerated sigh, "In this new case... We have to, again, blend in with High School students. And yes... Again, this is another one with drug dealers."

I rolled my eyes and groaned, "I hate Highschool..."

"I'm sure everyone hates High School at some point." Ultear responded.

"Anyways... Levy is getting further information on the case as we speak." Jellal added.

"So... While we wait, we can get breakfast?" Ultear suggested.

"Yes." Jellal answered and once they left, he looked at me, "I'm sure you haven't eaten anything yet..."

"I'm not hungry." I replied.

"So that's not your stomach that I've been hearing?" he quizzed.

I gave him a fake guilt look, "Well..."

"Come on... Let's go get something to eat..." Jellal sighed.

Before I could protest, he half dragged me to the counter that was full of pre-baked food, since Mira wasn't there yet. He grabbed a plate that had two slices of strawberry cake, and handed it to me. I smiled, I couldn't say no to strawberry cake...

I took the plate out of his hands, while he grabbed five cookies.

"You eat such healthy meals..." I told him sarcastically.

"Says the one that has strawberry cake for almost every meal." he teased as we sat down by the others.

"So... Natsu," I started, causing Natsu to back his chair away from the table, "Why was your cat here the other day?"

"I didn't want to leave him home alone." Natsu muttered.

I rolled my eyes, "He wouldn't have been alone if you had kept Lucy there, like I told you to."

"S-sorry?" he tried.

"Whatever..." I sighed, "Just keep it away from my cake."

Natsu nodded in response. I took a bite out of my cake, then rested my head on Jellal's shoulder and closed my eyes.

"When do we start this new case?" Ultear asked.

"As soon as Director Makarov manages to convince the school that we _won't _destroy anything _or_ anyone..." Jellal responded, probably looking directly at Ultear.

"How hard is it to convince a single school?" Ultear retorted.

"Really hard, especially when we have a reputation for accidentally destroying things... You know, it's just like how last night, you 'accidentally' destroyed that door... The one you slammed a person against..." Jellal replied.

My eyes shot open at the sound of a different voice.

It was Director Makarov, "Okay brats, you got the job, but _no _destroying things and _no_ starting fights. Got it?"

We all nodded our heads.

"However... It would draw too much attention to enroll all of you... So I've chosen three of you, meanwhile the other three of you will work behind the scenes with Levy." Makarov added.

"Okay, so who's going to get enrolled?" Ultear rudely asked.

"Erza, Meredy, and Natsu." Makarov answered, "Oh and this school... Has school uniforms..."

Levy suddenly came up behind him and set a folder on the table.

"That has all the information you'll need. It also has a picture of the boys uniforms and the girls." Levy informed.

I opened the folder and on top were the pictures. The boys uniforms was a simple green suit and tie. The girls uniforms were, a short green skirt, a white button-up tank top, a tie, and knee-high boots(preferably black).

I shuddered at the thought of not covering my arms, and not completely covering my legs again. Jellal comfortingly put his arm around me.

"You guys start on Monday, until then... You won't have any cases." Makarov added.

Ultear smiled, "Yes!" she shrieked in excitement.

Makarov and Levy went back to the elevator.

Ultear stood up, slamming her hands on the table out of excitement.

"Jellal, want to retry that race?" she asked.

Jellal smiled, "Sure."

Gray's eyes widened, "No. No racing."

Meredy looked at me, "We get to wait in the lobby to justify who wins. Natsu can stay up here and tell them when to go."

I nodded in response.

"Yeah! I'm all fired up!" Natsu exclaimed.

"Am I the only one not okay with this?" Gray asked in surprise.

"Yes." Ultear retorted, just barely glancing back at him.

"Okay, Natsu, count to 180, slowly, while Erza and I go to the lobby." Meredy instructed while standing up.

I stood up and we made our way to the elevator, while Natsu began counting. Meredy was also counting, just to keep track of around his much time we had left. When we got down to the lobby, we had about ten seconds left, before they'd begin.

"So... How does their race even work?" I asked.

"Well on the day of the first test, when Jellal literally ran into you, they had made a bet. They were trying to decide which to take, the elevator or the stairs, if they were running late for a meeting." Meredy explained, "So during the race, Jellal takes the elevator and Ultear takes the stairs. While they are racing, they each have to be carrying a stack of papers."

"That's... Interesting..." I muttered.

Meredy laughed, "Yeah... I wish I could've seen Gray's reaction when he found out about the entire race."

"This place is so lively..." I quietly commented.

"All of us have realized that at one point, just like all of us have made this our home at one point. You never know a persons backstory, unless they tell you." Meredy responded.

I tilted my head in confusion, but she didn't explain any further.

Suddenly, Ultear came running out of the door that led to the stairs and Jellal came running out of the elevator. Ultear immediately picked up speed and began sprinting. Moments after she got to us, Jellal got to us.

"Ha! I win! Again!" Ultear shouted.

"Yes... You win.. I'll give you ten dollars later." Jellal responded.

"Oh great..." Mira sighed, "You two have been racing again, haven't you?"

"Yes. We don't get any new cases. Monday is when we start our new one." Ultear exclaimed, making Mira cover her ears.

"You guys are going to give the director a heart attack one of these days..." she muttered, then walked over to the front desk where Evergreen was.

The four of us went back up to the cafeteria, using the elevator. On the way up, a sudden thought hit my mind.

I went on my toes and whispered to Jellal, "Wasn't Mira a field agent a few years ago?"

I went back on my flat feet and looked up at him expectantly. He looked as if he were trying to figure out how to answer the question.

"She was a field agent... Two years ago her little sister, who was also a field agent, died and Mira didn't want to be a field agent after that." Jellal responded hesitantly.

"Oh... That's sad." I replied.

_There's something he isn't telling me though..._

"Are you guys insane?" Gray exclaimed, when the elevator doors opened.

"Yes?" Ultear tried, as we stepped out of the elevator.

Gray shook his head.

"Oh!" Ultear suddenly exclaimed, "I know the answer to the question... We are fun people, which makes us insane."

Gray stared at her with a blank look on his face.

"No? That's not it either?" Ultear questioned.

"I give up..." Gray sighed.

"Good." Ultear replied in a cheerful tone, "So... Gray, do you want to race? We can both take the stairs if you want it to be fair."

"I might get shoved down the stairs, but okay..." Gray muttered.

Ultear smiled victoriously, "Yes! If I win, you give me twenty dollars. If you win, I'll give you ten dollars."

"That's not exactly fair... But okay..." Gray mumbled.

"I'm going to sit out on this one..." I mumbled.

"Yeah, me too." Jellal agreed.

Ultear stuck her tongue out at us, "Fine. You two can go make out."

I blushed and looked down, Jellal was also blushing and looking away, which only made Ultear laugh.

We walked over to the table that still had our food on it, and sat down. I began to quietly eat my cake, while Natsu started counting again, Meredy was hurrying to the lobby, Ultear and Gray were prepared to run, and Jellal was silently sitting beside me(He had already finished his cookies before the race).

"126, 127..." Natsu counted, "145, 146..."

A while later, Natsu was shouting 'go'.

After they left, I turned to Jellal.

"How did Mira's sister die?" I asked quietly.

"It was one of the harder cases and she has riskier job, which was pretend to be one of the criminals, when instead she was spy. When they found out... They killed her." Jellal explained, keeping his voice hushed.

"That's so sad..." I responded.

"Mira took it really hard... Because she was one of the people that allowed her sister and her team to take on that case." Jellal added quietly.

"Poor Mira..." I murmured.

The elevator doors suddenly opened, revealing Gray leaning against Meredy, and Ultear looking victorious.

"Thirty dollars in one day!" Ultear exclaimed.

"Yeah... You slammed me against a wall..." Gray muttered.

"Actually... I slammed a door in your face.." Ultear corrected.

"Same difference." Gray retorted, "One second I was right behind you, the next second, something hit me."

Ultear rolled her eyes, "You should watch where you're going."

Meredy helped Gray to the table that Jellal and I were at. Ultear sat down at the table too.

"I won fair and square." Ultear added.

"If you'd call that fair... Then yes, you did." Gray muttered.

"Well I do call it fair." Ultear retorted.

"Of course you do..." he sighed.

"Where'd Natsu go?" Ultear asked.

"To go hide his cat from Erza." Meredy answered.

Ultear laughed, "I think Natsu is the one that should be hiding from Erza."

**Sorry, this chapter doesn't have much of a plot... The next chapter will though. Please leave a review and give me some feedback! :)**


	10. Chapter 9

**Here's the next chapter! I just got out of school and went straight to this! Thank you everyone for all your kind reviews; it always excites me to see what everyone thinks! Anyways, enjoy this chapter! I should have the next one up next Friday!**

It was Monday morning, and I was sitting in Jellal's car, on my way to the agency. I was a nervous wreck. I had already thrown up five times that morning and I felt like throwing up again. Nobody really knew why I had hated Highschool, unless they went to Highschool with me.

While in Highschool, I never minded it when people called me names or ignored me. I preferred them ignoring me. The thing that bugged me the most was that, everyone had been oblivious to the fact that I showed up at school, everyday, with more and more wounds. And now, to show my scars, reminding me of how oblivious everyone was. If they weren't so oblivious, it would've all stopped way sooner. But now... Now I didn't want anyone to see the scars.

"You'll be fine, Erza." Jellal reminded me for the tenth time.

I forced a smile and nodded, then looked out the window. Through the reflection of the window, I could see Jellal frown.

His car soon pulled up in front of the agency, and I got out of the car just in time, to not throw up in his car. Jellal hurried over to me, as I knelt down next to his car and threw up even more. I held my hair back and tried not to throw up on myself.

Jellal crouched down by me and rested his hand on my back.

"Erza, do you think you could hold it long enough, so we can get to the building?" he asked.

I shook my head and threw up again.

"Okay um..." he glanced up, "Ultear, come here for a minute!" Jellal called.

I was able to glance up enough to catch a glimpse of Ultear, Gray, and Meredy walking over to us.

"Woah..." Ultear muttered when she was by the car.

"Could you go get like a small garbage can or something, so she can make it in the building without throwing up on herself?" Jellal asked.

"Yeah, I'll be right back..." Ultears voice faded as she walked away.

Moments later, she came back, holding a small garbage can. She handed it to Jellal.

It took a while to get into the building because every ten steps or so, I'd have to stop and throw up. Once in the building, I ran into the bathroom and threw up some more.

Meredy knocked on the door, "Erza, are you okay?" she asked as she entered the bathroom.

"I... Don't think... It's a good idea... For me to go back... To... Highschool." I managed to choke out the words.

"Erza, you'll be just fine. Okay? I'll be there for you. If you need anything throughout the day, you could always text Jellal or Ultear." Meredy responded.

I shook my head and threw up once again. My stomach hurt, and my throat was dry. My throat also burned, and my head was throbbing.

"Can't... Ultear go... Instead?" I asked breathlessly with a raspy voice.

"Sorry, but no. We have to look like we're related." Meredy responded.

I took a deep breath and hesitated for a moment.

_It's just High School... I can get through this..._

I used the sleeve of my shirt to wipe my mouth, then stood up and exited the bathroom stall.

"Okay... I'm good now..." I muttered.

"You sure?" she quizzed.

I nodded, "Yeah."

We walked out of the bathroom, where Ultear, Jellal and Gray were waiting.

"Are you feeling better now?" Jellal asked.

"Yeah, I think so." I responded, "Sorry about that..." I apologized.

"It's fine." Jellal replied.

"I'll take it you had a bad Highschool experience." Gray commented.

I already figured that they'd know I wasn't sick, I was just nervous.

"Try, bad life." I replied bluntly.

"Well except for those three years that your father was in prison, right?" Meredy commented quietly.

_Yes. If you don't count the first two years whereas I harmed myself by cutting my wrist with a razor and then soaking my wrist in a bowl of hand sanitizer... Yes. Hand sanitizer._

"Uh... Yeah..." I responded, "More so... Just a bad life while I was in school."

Jellal put his arm around me, "You'll be okay."

I rested my head on his shoulder.

Eventually we went up to my office and waited for Mira to show up with the school uniforms and for Levy and Natsu to just show up in general. Levy and Natsu arrived before Mira did.

"Okay so Director and I managed to talk the school into allowing me, Jellal, Ultear and Gray to help out in the office, so we can be near the others." Levy announced, "Now... Only the principal knows that we're F.T.B.I. agents. Teachers think that Erza, Meredy, and Natsu are siblings and that the rest of us are interns."

"Okay, when's Mira getting here?" Ultear asked.

"I'm right here." Mira interrupted, "Sorry, but I ran into someone in the lobby." she apologized, then stepped to the side, revealing a familiar little girl with dark blue hair.

"Hi Wendy!" I exclaimed.

"Hi Erza! You seem busy, do you want me to come back later?" she asked, excitement dancing in her eyes.

"You're right, I am busy..." I responded, "If you want, you could probably just hang out with Mira all day. I'm sure she won't mind."

Mira smiled, "Of course, I wouldn't mind!"

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yes, I'm sure." Mira replied at once, "Ultear, can you show her to the cafeteria, where she can wait for me?"

Ultear nodded and brought Wendy out of the room.

"Anyways... Here are your uniforms, go change into them. Erza, since we're in your office, you can just go change in Jellal's office." Mira decided.

"Okay..." I replied.

She gave Natsu his suit, Meredy her outfit, and me my outfit. We each walked to our offices to change, except me. I went to Jellal's.

Soon after I had changed into my outfit, Meredy knocked on the door.

"Are you done yet?" Meredy asked.

"Yeah..." I muttered.

"Come out." she responded.

"No..." I grumbled.

She opened the door, then shut it after walking in. Meredy walked over to me and started pushing me towards the door.

I pushed against her.

"Oh come on, Erza. You look fine." Meredy muttered.

I shook my head, then sat down where I was, causing Meredy to trip.

"Ooft!" she grumbled as she fell.

The others came in soon after that.

"Erza, not this again..." Jellal mumbled.

I closed my eyes and folded my arms across my chest.

"What do you mean 'again'?" Gray asked.

"I had to half drag her out of her house this morning..." Jellal muttered.

"I don't wanna go..." I whined.

They ignored me.

"We could literally drag her out of here." Ultear suggested.

"No. We aren't going to drag her..." Jellal replied.

"You could carry her." Ultear suggested.

Jellal sighed, "Erza, you get a choice... Either get carried to the car or you can walk."

I didn't respond, I didn't even show any signs that I had heard him. Soon, I felt myself being picked up and carried.

I was soon being carefully set inside the passengers seat to Jellal's car. Jellal put my seatbelt on, then went around, and got in the drivers seat. It took me a few moments to realize that Meredy was sitting in between us. While Gray, Ultear and Natsu were in the back seat. Oh, and Levy was illegally sitting on Ultear's lap.

Once Jellal parked the car in the parking lot, I felt sick again. Luckily, this time Jellal parked towards the edge of the parking lot, so when I got out of the car, I ran to the grass and threw up. Again.

"Uh... You five can go inside, I'll stay out here with Erza." Jellal informed.

I could hear footsteps walking away. Suddenly, I felt Jellal's hand on my shoulder. I looked over and gave a forced smile.

"You'll be fine, Erza." Jellal told me, "Scars or no scars, you look gorgeous."

I smiled at him, though this time, it wasn't forced.

He smiled back, "There's that beautiful smile..."

He leaned down and kissed my forehead.

"Let's go inside the school, okay?" he suggested.

I hesitantly nodded and we went to the school office together, where the others were talking to the principal.

"Oh, and this is Erza and Jellal." Ultear informed as we entered the room, "Erza is the other one that is going undercover as a student."

"Alright, the three of you have close to the same schedules. A couple of classes are the same." the principal informed, "Could I have the other four of you leave? I'm going to have a student guide them around the school for the day and it would seem suspicious to have all seven of you here."

Levy, Gray, Ultear, and Jellal left the room and waited in the small hallway. Moments later, a girl with dark brown, curly hair came in the room.

"Cana?" I asked in shock, "How are you still in school?"

"Apparently you'll fail a lot of tests if you fall asleep in class!" she exclaimed, sounding wasted as usual.

I sighed, "Try drinking less and maybe you'll graduate."

"But that's no fun!" she whined.

"I tried..." I mumbled.

"Cana, what are you doing here?" the principal asked, "Did you fall asleep during class again and yell at whoever tried waking you?"

"Maybe." she replied.

The principal rolled his eyes, "Go sit in the hall..."

"Fine..." she grumbled, then left the room.

"I never would've thought that she'd still be in Highschool..." I muttered.

A while later, a boy with dusty brown hair came in.

"Sorry I'm late..." he apologized.

"These are our new students, Erza, Meredy, and Natsu." the principal introduced us, gesturing towards each of us when he said our names.

"Hello, I'm Andy." he smiled.

I looked down and half hid myself behind Natsu, when I felt Andy's gaze burning into me.

"Can I see your schedules?" he asked.

We handed him our schedules.

"Okay, right now, you three should be heading to Mr. Carmikel's class, History." he informed, "I'll show you where it is."

He led us through a bunch of other students, down a couple of hallways and we were soon at a door that read, 'Mr. Carmikel.'

He led us in the room and to the teachers desk.

"These are the new students, Erza, Meredy, and Natsu." Andy introduced us.

"Hi." Meredy gave a slight wave.

"Nice to meetcha'!" Natsu said cheerfully.

I stayed silent and looked at my feet.

"She's really shy." Meredy quickly stated.

"Okay... Meredy, you'll be sitting in the farthest row from my desk, in the back." he informed, "Natsu and Erza, you two will be at the table, in the row right in front of my desk, at the front of the classroom."

Meredy and I reluctantly went to our seats. Natsu stayed where he was.

"I-I have to sh-share a t-table with E-Erza...?" he stuttered.

I rolled my eyes, "Just sit down.. I'm not _that _scary."

Natsu sat directly where he was.

"Not on the ground..." I grumbled, walking over to him.

I grabbed his arm and pulled him onto his feet.

"This way..." I muttered, pulling him to the table we'd be sharing, "Sit." I instructed.

Natsu sat next to his chair.

"Sit in the chair..." I muttered.

Natsu quickly pulled himself into his chair as I sat in mine, while some other students were watching in amusement. I awkwardly looked down as I felt curious eyes watching us.

Soon enough, class started. Although, I doubted that anyone was paying much attention, since throughout class, I could feel their stares burning into me. I nearly fell asleep five times, but didn't make it completely to sleep because my desk kept getting hit by a ruler.

"Can't someone get some sleep in the most boring class on Earth?" I grumbled, receiving a few snickers from other students, and a glare from Mr. Carmikel, "What? I was just telling the truth... This class sucks." I muttered.

Mr. Carmikel rolled his eyes and went back to the lesson. Again, I tried to fall asleep, but didn't make it very far. Although, this time my desk wasn't hit by a ruler. The bell rang, signaling that class was over. When the bell rang, I jumped and fell out of my seat. I rubbed my now sore face and groaned. I also glared at a laughing Natsu, who immediately shut up.

"Erza, I'm going to guess that you either got no sleep last night, or you _really_ hate history." Meredy decided.

I stood up and grumbled, "Why did I have to come? Couldn't it just be you and Natsu, and I stay with Jellal?"

Meredy giggled, "We all know how much you miss your boyfriend, Erza."

I blushed and looked down.

"Hey, at least I'm not acting like Ultear... She'd say something li-" she started, but I hit her stomach, "Ow!"

"Sorry, muscle spasm..." I joked.

"You three are going to be late for your next class..." an impatient voice sounded towards the door.

"Not sure about those two, but I wouldn't mind..." I muttered.

"Erza, be nice!" Meredy scolded.

I rolled my eyes and we walked to the door, where Andy was waiting. He led Meredy and Natsu to their classes first.

"Okay... Now your next class is Algebra with... Mr. Jansen." Andy informed.

He led me across the school, but that ended up being pointless. When we got to his classroom, I realized that I knew Mr. Jansen. He had been my Highschool teacher, when I was actually in Highschool. Who would've thought he transferred to this school?

Andy entered the room, but I took a step back. He turned around and looked at me curiously.

"Um... I'll be right back... I... Um... Have to go to the bathroom," I very obviously lied, then quickly walked away.

I went straight to the office, where the others were pretending to work.

"Erza, are you okay?" Jellal and Ultear asked as soon as they saw me.

"Uh... Not really..." I replied hesitantly.

"Care to explain?" Jellal quizzed.

"Um... Well one of my teachers just so happens to be one of my teachers from when I was actually in Highschool..." I muttered.

"Oh... Um... For now, you could just skip the class, I guess. We'll figure something out in a bit." Jellal decided.

I sighed in relief.

"One thing..." Jellal started, "Did you have that bruise on your face this morning?"

I laughed, "Never try to fall asleep when class is almost over. The bell might scare you and cause you to fall out of your chair. Then, you might get a Meredy, who's trying to quote an Ultear."

Jellal laughed, "I heard from Levy that you had to drag Natsu to his seat."

"How'd she find out?" I asked.

"She's monitoring every camera in the school." Jellal answered.

"Wow..." I mumbled.

"Here." Jellal handed me a sweatshirt, "While you were throwing up this morning, I grabbed it for you."

"Thank you." I smiled and put the sweatshirt on.

He put his arm around me and led me to the room that Levy was in.

"If you want some sleep, just sleep in here. Otherwise you can help Levy. I wish I could give you something else to do, but we kind of have to keep you hidden from the teachers." he informed.

"Okay, I'll probably sleep anyways. Did you know that I fell asleep at six this morning?" I stated.

"I figured that you barely got any sleep." he replied.

I gave him a guilty look and he laughed.

"Okay, get some sleep." he stated.

I found a spot on the ground, just behind Levy. Though, I didn't lay down right away. At first, I just sat by the wall and watched the monitors with Levy. I watched what was happening in the classroom that I was supposed to be in, while Levy was creepily trying to zoom in on a book someone was reading in a different classroom.

"Imagine if that person just randomly saw the screen you are looking at... I'm sure that they'd be scared for the rest of their lives..." I pointed out.

"Good thing they won't find out." she replied cheerily.

"You're creepy..." I muttered.

"He's reading a book!" she exclaimed.

I rolled my eyes and looked back at the one with the room that I was supposed to be in.

Mr. Jansen was taking attendance.

_"Erza Scarlet." _he called out, then did a double take, _"Huh... That sounds familiar..."_

_"Um..." _that was Andy, _"Erza is one of the new students, she kind of just randomly freaked out and um left... Her sister is looking for her." _

A few second later, Meredy entered the classroom.

_"Uh... Erza went home... She's been feeling sick all day, and um... Yeah.. She uh... Threw up and went home." _Meredy terribly lied.

_"Huh... What does she look like? Her name sounds familiar." _he stated.

_"Um... Sorry, I can't stay and chat, I have to get back to class." _she replied quickly, then left.

Mr. Jansen shrugged, then went on with attendance.

"I'm surprised he recognized you just by the name..." Levy commented.

I shrugged, "I'm not too surprised, I was his worst student. But I mean... You try taking a test while being injured... It's hard to concentrate. Or try getting homework done on time when you barely have time for sleep at night."

"Oh wow... I didn't really think about how your life must've been while you were in school." she said quietly.

"Don't worry. Nobody did." I muttered, then laid down.

Before closing my eyes, I saw Levy frown, then look away.

_My father often raged a lot when the topic of my mother was brought up. His voice constantly nagging at me about how it was all my fault that she left us. _

_I staggered backwards when he shoved me. After miserably trying gain my balance, I ended up on the ground. Soon having a beer bottle thrown at my face, and I wasn't able to block it in time. I bit my lip, to hold back a scream. I bit down harder as two more beer bottles came flying at me. I bit down on my lip so hard, that I began to taste blood._

_It took me a few minutes to realize that I had tears streaming down my face. Soon enough, I couldn't keep back my screams of pain._

_"Quit screaming, you pathetic thing!" my father shouted, "You deserve this! It's your fault she left us! Your fault that your mother is gone!" he screeched._

_I squeezed my eyes shut and hugged my legs, muffling my screams into my knees._

_"I know... I'm sorry..." I whimpered._

_One last beer bottle was thrown at me, then I heard his footsteps fade down the hall._

I was breathing heavily, and I could feel tear stains on my face. My eyes shot open and I wildly looked around.

"Erza, it's okay." Jellal assured me, "It was just a dream..."

Though my eyes were open, I couldn't see past the dream. I couldn't see reality.

Somewhere along the line, Jellal began reassuring himself, "She'll be okay... Yeah. She'll be okay..."

I started picking at my hand, and something sent a searing pain shooting through it. I suddenly felt someone's hands on my wrists and he moved my hands away from each other.

"Don't do that, or it won't heal." Jellal murmured, making me realize that I had been picking at my stitches.

I rubbed my eyes, and realized why my vision was so bad. I had tears welled up in my eyes. I also realized that I had been oblivious to the fact that I was now sitting on Jellal's lap, while he was hugging me securely against his chest.

I took a deep, shaky breath, "I'm okay now..." I stated, but it came out as a whisper.

Jellal looked down at me, "Are you sure?" he asked.

I hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

"What was your dream about?" he asked.

I grimaced, "Nothing important..."

Jellal frowned, "Erza..." he started.

"It's nothing. Really." I assured him, more confidently this time.

I looked over to Levy, who was sitting behind Jellal, still watching her monitors.

"Levy, can you find any records of my mother?" I asked.

She glanced back at me, "I can try to find some." she responded, pulling out her laptop.

I smiled gratefully, then quickly looked the opposite direction of a confused Jellal.

"Erza-" Jellal started, but I cut him off by suddenly turning around and hugging him tightly.

He frowned once again, but didn't say anything.

Ultear suddenly came in the room, with Meredy and Natsu behind her.

"Time to go." she announced.

"Aww... Can't we wait a few more minutes, so I can go get a book from someone?" Levy whined.

I turned to her, "I don't think that would be a good idea... You were using a camera to read over their shoulder..."

Levy pouted, "Good point... But we were almost done with it..."

"That just makes it sound even creepier..." Meredy pointed out.

Levy stuck her tongue out and shut down the monitors, then grabbed her laptop. Jellal and I stood up, then followed them out of the building, to Jellal's car. We all sat in the same spots that we did on the way to the school.

When we got to the agency, Natsu, Meredy, and I went to change into our regular clothes. I relaxed almost as soon as I was in my jeans and black, long-sleeved turtleneck.

I went to the cafeteria, where the others said that they'd be.

"Where's Jellal?" I asked, sitting down at the table.

"He went to talk to the director." Ultear answered simply.

"Oh.." I mumbled.

_Wendy must've gone home... I'll see if I can get Levy to find her address, and then I'll visit her sometime..._

**(Jellal's POV)**

I walked down to Director Makarov's office, looking down at the ground. I've memorized the route by now, I've had to bail Ultear out of trouble many times.

Before I knew it, I was standing outside the door to his office.

I knocked on the door, then cautiously opened it.

"Yes? Oh, come in Jellal." Makarov answered at once.

I entered his office and shut the door behind me, "Hi... Um..."

Shit! I hadn't really thought about how I was going to word it.

"Get on with it, I don't have very much time to spare." he grumbled.

"Yes... Sorry.. I'd like to request for Erza to no longer be undercover as a student in our case." I informed.

"Nope. I chose Natsu, Meredy, and Erza. It's staying that way." he muttered.

"No, it can't stay that way." I argued, "It stresses her out way too much. She threw up about fifty times today, I had to carry her to the car, and she knows one of the teachers, so that could cause problems."

When he didn't answer, I spoke again.

"I only request things when it's needed... Please trust me on this one." I added.

"Let's see how things go tomorrow." Makarov decided.

I frowned, "Okay..."

I left his office and headed up to the cafeteria, shaking my head.

When I got to the cafeteria, I sat down by Erza and she hugged me.

"Ultear was being mean..." she complained.

I glanced at Ultear.

"What...? I only said that she missed making out with you..." Ultear muttered.

"And she set Natsu's stupid cat by my cake." she added.

"Well did Natsu's stupid cat eat your cake?" I asked.

"It took one bite out of my cake." she mumbled.

"Do you want a new cake?" I quizzed.

She nodded and let go of me, giving me a light push towards the edge of my seat and letting out a small laugh. I rolled my eyes and got up to get her a new slice of cake.

**(Erza's POV)**

Later that night, I was alone at my house, watching TV. Well, I wasn't really watching it. I just had it on and I was sitting on the couch, still feeling sick to my stomach. I wasn't enjoying having to blend in with Highschool students. It was very stressful.

My phone suddenly rang and I answered it.

"Hi, this is Levy!" Levy announced, "I found information on your mom, but I think I should wait to tell you... Like, wait until Jellal is near you..."

I frowned, "Why?"

"Because... I'm not sure how you'll take it..." she muttered.

"Just tell me, I won't do anything stupid, I promise." I replied.

That's my first mistake of the evening, making the promise that I wouldn't do anything stupid.

She sighed, "Umm..." she hesitated, "Okay... I'll tell you... It says here," she must be reading it as she speaks, "That your mother was a drug addict, went to therapy many times, and..." she hesitated again, "Um... Commit suicide, six years ago..." Levy muttered the last part, almost as if she regret saying it.

I rubbed my eyes, not allowing the tears to be shed.

"That's... Interesting..." I managed to respond.

"You okay...?" she asked cautiously.

"Yeah... I'm fine. I'm fine." I replied and hung up before she could say anything else.

That's my second mistake of that evening, hanging up the phone.

Great... More stress.

The case put enough stress on me as it is. Plus, my father is trying to kill me. And now... This.

I wiped away the tears that were freely flowing down my face. Then, I stood up and paced around the room, stopping at the entryway and leaning my head against the doorframe. I took a deep breath.

"Again... It's my fault..." I mumbled, then let out a forced laugh, "I'm such an idiot... To think I could escape my past? I'm the whole reasoning for my past..."

I walked into my kitchen and shakily took a knife out of the drawer, then walked to the sink, stretching my left arm over it. It's been a year since I've last done this...

I pressed the knife into my skin, in twenty-eight different spots along my forearm, then dropped the knife into the sink, and watched as my blood dripped down into it. I didn't allow myself to take care of the wounds properly. Instead, I turned on the hot water and ran it over them. Pink water formed in the sink as I bit back a cry of pain.

Once I gave up on putting myself through more pain, I wrapped up my forearm, so it wouldn't bleed all over my bed, and I went to sleep.

**How was this chapter? Please leave a review, and tell me what you think! **

**Many of you have been wondering why Erza would cut, and it's because of her past. She's used to pain whenever something was 'her fault', so she gave herself the pain since nobody else did.**


	11. Chapter 10

**Here's this weeks chapter! Sorry I didn't post it on Friday, I didn't have internet connection then, and I was very busy yesterday. Anyways, enjoy the chapter and thank you for your reviews! Oh and I edited the authors note at the end of the last chapter, explaining why Erza did what she did.**

I woke up to my alarm this morning and quickly got dressed. Putting on a T-shirt and some skinny jeans, then unwrapping the bandage from my forearm. After taking off the bandage, I put on a sweatshirt, then waited for Jellal to show up, skipping breakfast again.

Jellal was ten minutes later than usual, but I didn't mind. I actually left the house this time, without throwing up or having to be dragged. Although, the closer we got to the agency, the more the vomit feeling started to come back.

"Levy told me about your mom..." Jellal commented quietly, "Are you okay?"

I nodded, "I'm fine."

He frowned. I could understand why... All my answers were vague, unless I was joking around. I was always so distant towards him. Especially when it came to how I felt about things.

When we got to the agency, I went into the bathroom to change, and threw up six times. Exiting the bathroom, I had my arms folded across my chest, to hide the cuts, and I brought my clothes to my office.

I went to the lobby, where we planned to meet up at. After waiting ten minutes for Natsu, we went to Jellal's car. Again, cramming ourselves in, illegally.

Once we were at the school, I forced myself not to throw up again. Mostly to hide the cuts on my arms.

All day, I avoided letting people even catch a glimpse of my arms, and when I was supposed to be in Algebra, I did not sleep in the room Levy was in. I refused to fall asleep.

I went to Highschool for the rest of the week too. Following the same routine every morning: change into my regular clothes, go to the agency, change into other clothes, throw up, hide my cuts, throw up some more. Hiding the cuts got harder each day because I kept adding more.

Friday, when we got back to the agency, after the whole Highschool thing, we went straight to the cafeteria. I got to the cafeteria way later than everyone else because I sat in my office for ten minutes, after changing into my skinny jeans, T-shirt, and sweatshirt.

When I got to the cafeteria, I sat down next to Jellal. They were currently talking about the case and who they thought was selling the drugs. We knew about five people that were buying the drugs, just not who was selling them.

I silently listened to the conversation, then Jellal nudged me.

"What happened to you wrist?" he whispered, careful not to interrupt Ultear.

I glanced down at my wrist, where part of my sweatshirt was folded back, revealing a couple of cuts, but it wasn't obvious that they were self inflicted.

"Nothing..." I mumbled, pulling my sleeves down further.

Since I wouldn't tell him, Jellal grabbed my hand and pushed up the sleeve of my sweatshirt.

"What the hell, Erza?" he exclaimed, making Ultear and the others shut up, and look in our direction.

I tugged my arm away from him and pulled down the sleeve. For some reason, I felt tears piercing my eyes, so I got up and left, walking down the stairs to my office. When I got there, Ultear was sitting in my office chair. She must've taken the elevator.

"Don't be too upset with Jellal..." she started, "He's been stressed all week."

"What reason does he have for being stressed?" I grumbled.

"He's been talking to the director every day, asking him to take you out of being a student." Ultear explained, "He hates to see you hurt, it's even worse when he finds out that you're giving yourself wounds."

I glanced down at my feet, "I don't see why..." I whispered, "I deserve it..."

Ultear looked stunned, "Uh... Just go back to the cafeteria and talk to Jellal. He didn't mean to freak out like that. Just please go talk to him."

I sighed, "I just don't want him to yell again..."

"He won't, I promise." she responded.

"I'll go talk to him..." I mumbled, then left the room.

This time, I took the elevator, not willing to take the stairs again. When the elevator doors opened, I saw Jellal sitting alone at a table. I walked over and sat across from him. He glanced up, and gave a forced smile.

"I'm sorry I yelled..." he apologized, "It's just not what I expected..."

"I-it's fine..." I mumbled.

"How long have you been cutting yourself?" he asked.

"Since Monday night..." I muttered.

Jellal sighed, "Erza, if I would've known you were that stressed, I could've gotten you out of this..."

"You don't have to worry about it..." I mumbled.

"Erza, you don't understand. I feel the need to worry about it. When you're in pain, I'm in pain. I don't want you hurt." he responded.

I opened my mouth to respond, but couldn't find the words.

Jellal reached forward and grabbed my hand, "When I see stuff like this," he started, rolling up my sweatshirt sleeve, "It scares me..."

"Why...?" I asked quietly.

"Because I care about you." he answered.

I felt tears coming to my eyes again. I heard Jellal get up, and I soon felt his arms wrapped around me.

"Nobody's ever said that to me before..." I mumbled.

"I love you, Erza." he responded.

"I love you too." I replied and hugged him in return.

I buried my face against his chest.

"Please don't cut yourself again." Jellal whispered.

"I won't..." my voice was muffled against his chest.

I can say I'm glad he didn't look too closely at my wrist because by now, there are slight burn marks on my wrist, from when I'd run hot water on it.

"Do you want to go home?" Jellal asked, pulling away from me.

"I want to go talk to Levy first." I replied.

"Okay... Meet you in the lobby?" he responded.

"Yes." I answered then used the stairs to go to the science floor.

It took me a while to find Levy's office, but I eventually found it. I lightly knocked on her door.

"Come in!" she called.

I opened the door and stepped into her office and shut the door behind me.

"Hey Levy..." I greeted and awkwardly looked down, "You must hate me... I promised that I wouldn't do anything stupid, but I did..."

"I don't hate you, Erza." Levy responded softly, "I shouldn't have told you while you were alone."

"I would've done it either way... I would've just gone into the bathroom to do it... The way I used to..." I replied.

I wasn't going to let her think that she's the reason why.

"Um... Anyways... I just wanted to apologize for lying... I've got to go now." I quickly added, "But don't worry, I doubt that Jellal will leave me alone."

"Okay, make sure you listen to him though." she replied as I left the room.

I went down to the lobby, where Jellal was waiting for me. We walked out to his car and sat in silence. Suddenly, I noticed that we were in a parking lot, instead of outside my home. I looked at Jellal questioningly as he pulled his keys out of the ignition.

"You must be hungry." Jellal said, then got out of his car.

I quickly got out as well.

"I'll take it, you haven't been here for a while." Jellal stated.

We were at the cafe, that I haven't gone to in a while. We walked into the cafe, and sat at the table I would normally sit at.

"Hello Erza." the waitress greeted, "You haven't been here for a while, is everything okay."

"Yeah, just busy." I answered.

"Would you like the usual?" she asked.

"Yes please." I responded.

She turned to Jellal, "What would you like?"

"I'll just have a burger." he replied.

"Okay, I'll have your orders in a little bit." she responded then walked away.

"In the past week, how often did you eat?" Jellal asked.

"Um... Well... How many times did you see me eating at the agency?" I replied.

"Three times..." he muttered.

"There's your answer." I responded.

Jellal sighed, "That's what I thought... I figured that you only ate at the agency..."

"You did?" I asked in surprise.

"Your lack of energy... The fact that every once in a while, I could hear your stomach..." he pointed out.

"Right... I used to be better at hiding my hunger..." I mumbled.

"That's... Not a good thing." he responded.

"No, it's not... But I didn't want everyone at school to know that I was practically being starved." I replied.

Jellal sighed, "Well, you really need to eat to keep your energy up. Otherwise, you could have troubles helping with certain cases. I'd know that all too well..."

I tilted my head in confusion, "Care to explain?"

"Uh... Let's just say that when I first got into the agency, I was stressed, and didn't eat very much." he muttered.

"Why do you always do that?" I asked, throwing him off guard.

"Do what?" he quizzed.

"You leave out information. You left some out with Mira, with my father, and now with yourself." I replied.

"There's just some thing's that you don't want to know, Erza." he responded.

"Like what? What don't you think I want to know?" I retorted.

"Erza... I can't tell you... I can't put anymore stress on you." he mumbled.

"Jellal, I want to know... Just tell me..." I whined.

"I can't risk you harming yourself again." he shook his head, "No, I'm not telling you."

I sighed as our food came. The waitress set down my cake, Jellal's burger, and two glasses of water.

"I figured you two might be thirsty." she commented, then walked away.

We ate in complete silence. Our conversation had left it awkward to talk. Jellal's phone suddenly rang. When he answered the phone, he didn't even greet the person he was talking to. Then again, I rarely greet Lucy when she calls. Jellal just simply listened to what the person needed to say.

"Okay, just wait like ten minutes." Jellal said into the phone, then hung up.

I looked at him questioningly.

"I need to go..." Jellal hesitantly told me, "Um.. I'll see you tomorrow."

Then he got up and left.

_I guess I'm walking home..._ _Great.._

I looked out the window of the cafe and saw puddles outside. It was raining. Just great. I didn't expect Jellal to leave me alone at all, and here he ditched me, not even at my own home, but at a cafe. While it was raining.

Suddenly, I heard my phone ringing. What did Lucy want? Was it Jellal? I looked at my phone, and saw-

"Why is Ultear calling me?" I muttered aloud, answering. I didn't even get time to say anything.

"Erza!" Ultears voice yelled through the phone, "Please tell me Jellal is with you!"

"No, he just left..." I muttered.

"Crap!" Ultear yelled again, then calmed down, "Wait, where are you? Do you need a ride home?"

"Yes... I'm at a cafe." I muttered.

"The one on Main Street and 2nd avenue?" she asked.

"I'm trying to decide how creepy it is that you know which cafe I'm at..." I replied.

"You can't give me that much stalking credit. It's the only cafe that sells strawberry cake..." Ultear mumbled.

I laughed, "Okay, now come pick me up. I don't want to walk in the rain."

"Oh, right!" Ultear yelled, "Be there soon!"

"Alright..." I mumbled, then hung up.

I pushed my plate to the side, it didn't have much cake left on it, and laid my head on the table. Five minutes later, Ultear came into the cafe.

"Okay, come on Erza." she announced hurriedly.

I got up and followed her out of the cafe.

"Would you like to explain what the hell's going on?" I asked as we got into her car.

She sighed, "It's not my place to tell you..."

I groaned and hit my head on the dashboard.

"Woah! Erza!" she exclaimed and pushed me back, so I was sitting up in my seat.

"Why do you guys hide things?" I asked.

"You really want to know?" she asked.

"Yes, I really want to know." I retorted.

"Fine. Meredy, Jellal, and I were criminals before we came into the agency." she responded bluntly, "We worked with a group of criminals and the agency was only able to catch us. So... Jellal and I are working undercover to catch the rest. Director Makarov was nice enough to give us a chance... Otherwise we would've been executed." she explained.

"I didn't view you guys as criminals..." I replied quietly, not sure how I felt about this.

"The thing is... Jellal and I are actually supposed to be off that case... Jellal doesn't want to abandon the case." she took a deep breath, "You see... The group of criminals... Runs some weird child slavery facility now... Their headquarters and the facility are in different places, we only know the location of the headquarters." she hesitated, "He doesn't want to stop the case because he feels that if he does, he's letting you down."

I opened my mouth to respond, but couldn't find the words.

My fault. Again.

Suddenly, we were in front of my house.

"No offense, but please hurry and get out. I need to go somewhere and quickly." Ultear stated.

I started to get out of the car, then stopped.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

She hesitated, "I'm going after Jellal, to force him off the case."

"I'm going with you." I decided and got all the way back into the car.

Ultear sighed, "Fine... But Jellal's going to want to kill me..."

I shut the door and put my seat belt back on.

We drove for an hour and we were soon outside of an old, run-down building.

"This place is creepy..." I muttered, and we silently got out of the car.

Ultear led me into the building. Once we were inside, it was like a maze. She led me through tons of passageways.

Soon, she yanked me behind a pillar. I glanced around the pillar and noticed a large group of guys, plus a few women, and in the middle was Jellal.

"Someone came here and said that you were a traitor, Jellal." a woman sneered, "That you were working with the government. Is that true?"

"Of course not." Jellal answered, "Whoever told you that, is lying."

"Oh really? Because he said that you and Ultear helped arrest him." someone else chimed in.

Jellal let out a fake laugh, "Could you see me as someone to even come close to assisting an arrest?"

They hesitated, "Well..." one of them started.

"Whatever. My point is... I don't work with the government." Jellal interrupted.

"Is that true?" I recognized this voice. It was a voice that sent chills up my spine, "Because I remember your little friend, Ultear, tased me after I put those two other agents... What were their names? Juvia and Mira? Yeah... After I put them out of commission."

Jellal tensed up, and so did I.

My father stepped out if the shadows on the other side of the room.

"It's a shame Erza isn't here. She won't get to see your life end, or maybe she'd choose to take your place..." he taunted, "Well so far... I'm sure she wants your life to end." he looked in my direction, "Erza, sweetie, what do you choose to do?"

I froze. Eventually I forced myself to walk out into the open. Ultear followed me. Although, she had her gun drawn, I didn't.

"Ultear, you were supposed to take her home!" Jellal exclaimed.

"Well she insisted on coming and I was in a hurry to get you out of being an idiot!" Ultear snapped, "But it looks like I was too late."

I didn't break eye contact from my father. I didn't take my eyes off of him for a second.

"Tell me, Erza... How many wounds do you have?" my father asked.

"None." I lied.

Why the hell would I tell him that I had wounds? He loved wounds! No way am I giving him that enjoyment.

I suddenly felt a hand on my arm. I looked over, and saw the woman who had been sneering at Jellal earlier. She smirked, but it soon turned into a look of surprise as I slammed my fist into her stomach. All at once, she released my arm, and clutched her stomach.

I glared at my father, "I'm not as weak as I was before you were arrested."

"I know." he replied blankly.

"Then quit treating me like I am!" I snapped.

"I know you won't do anything." he pointed out, "I could shoot your friend right now, right here."

"How could you be so sure that I wouldn't do anything?" I tested.

He laughed, "Could you really stand me killing him? I mean you've even _kissed _him!"

"You're right. I wouldn't be able to stand you killing him." I replied. He only gave me a creepy smile.

"Perfect." he smiled, reaching for a shape around his waist, "Killing him should be more interesting!"

At the same time, I reached for my gun, which was tucked in the waistband of my jeans, and hidden under my shirt.

"Right! Oh well." he looked to the lady I punched, and she took out a gun. It was pointed at Ultear.

"How about you just shoot me?" I asked, "I'm the whole main cause of you being arrested."

_I'm such an idiot.._

Jellal suddenly snapped his head to me, glaring. He mouthed, 'Did you really just say that?'

"Apparently..." I mumbled.

My father grinned, "Set down the gun first."

I shook my head, "First, you can stop having guns aimed at my friends."

He nodded to the lady and she moved her gun. My father moved his away from Jellal and to me.

"Ultear, step back," he commanded, "or I'll shoot you too,"

"That's a threat I'm not afraid of." Ultear retorted.

"Or I'll shoot Jellal," he corrected himself, "and maybe later, Meredy too..."

Ultear's eyes widened in horror and she took a few steps back, putting her gun back in its holster.

"Good enough." he nodded, aiming at my head, "Anything you want to say?"

"There's an idiot behind you?" I tried, though Natsu _was_ behind him.

Then I saw him lower his gun a bit, and shot. To my surprise, I heard three shots, but soon fell over from pain in between my lungs. My father fell too, and Natsu had a gun pointed at him.

Being the idiot that I am, I forced myself to my knees. Ultear came over to me. Jellal had a gun pointed at the lady, and Natsu was checking to see if my father was dead or not.

I soon found my breath getting shallower, meanwhile Ultear was on the phone, calling for an ambulance. I heard Jellals voice.

"Minerva," he called to the lady, "put your gun on the floor before I- Just put your gun down!"

I heard an evil laugh come from her, as my vision blurred.

"Jellal, I'm not scared of you." she sneered.

I heard a gunshot and Natsu's voice, "Jellal you didn't need to shoot her arm..."

"It got her to drop the gun." Jellal pointed out.

"Guys! Shut up!" Ultear yelled, then looked to me, "Erza, can you see me?"

"Barely..." I muttered, pain echoing in my voice.

"Okay, it's going to be okay." she muttered, "Focus on breathing. Okay? Wait, don't answer that."

I nodded, even though that technically was answering...

_Breathe in..._

_Breathe out..._

I repeated in my head. I heard sirens, but they sounded faint. Natsu said something... The sirens were getting louder...

"Erza?" I heard Jellal, "We have to lift you, okay?"

I nodded. Soon, I felt myself getting lifted up and set down on a stretcher. They placed an oxygen mask around my mouth.

My breathing gradually became even. I kept waiting for my vision to become clear, but it just got blurrier.

I soon slipped into a deep sleep.

**Cliffhanger! Sort of… Please leave a review and tell me what you think of this chapter! I love seeing what people think of this story.**


	12. Chapter 11

**Hey everyone! Thank you for your wonderful reviews for the last chapter! Now, enjoy this chapter! I know for a fact, I enjoyed writing it!**

_I was at school. How people haven't noticed that something was wrong, I don't know. I always came to school with blood, cuts, scars, and bruises all over me, and I was way skinnier than I was supposed to be._

_My teachers hated me because I fell asleep during class, had tons of late work, and failed a lot of tests. How do you expect someone to be able to do things properly, when that person can barely sleep at night?_

_Everyone is so oblivious. Wasn't it obvious that I was afraid to do anything and everything?_

_Right now, I was in Algebra. Ugh. Mr. Jansen definitely hated me. _

_"Erza!" he called, making me jump, "What's the answer?"_

_I looked at the board, but it made no sense._

_"What's the question and what are we even talking about?" I asked quietly._

_Mr. Jansen smiled slightly, "The question was, 'What's the surface area of a sphere if the radius is pi?' We are talking about spheres."_

_"Uh... How do we find surface area again?" I asked, receiving a few snickers from the people behind me._

_"Surface area is four pi r squared. It's on the board..."_

_"Oh! That's what that is..." I muttered, "Um... Um..."_

_"Wait," a familiar voice muttered behind me, "It's not eight pi squared! It's four pi cubed!"_

_"Uh..." I mumbled, "Shit..."_

_"Well? Do you have the answer or not?" he pestered. _

_"Ugh... Shut up for a moment..." I mumbled. A few kids snickered. _

_Suddenly, the bell rang. Other students got out of their desks and began going to their next classes, but I couldn't really find the energy to stand._

_"Erza?" the teacher asked, "Are you okay?"_

_"I'm fine..." I grumbled._

_"Erza, if you don't mind me asking... How did you get those wounds?"_

_I flinched in surprise, "Uh... Nowhere. I need to go to my next class... Uh bye..." I replied as quickly as I could, then forced myself up and went into the halls._

_Great... The hell halls..._

_"Hey scar-face!" some asshole called, "Got any new cuts?"_

_I flinched, mumbling, "Why would you care...?" _

_"Self-abuse isn't right you know!" a girl sneered, snapping her gum. _

_"Who says its self-abuse?" I mumbled quietly, but they didn't hear me._

_Somebody behind me shoved me, "Bloody-hair!"_

_I was shoved again, "Scarlet Blood!"_

_I winced as I was shoved again, the only change this time was that they had put their hand on one of my fresh wounds._

_"Oh! That one hurt, huh?" they sneered, hitting it again, "Should have thought of that before you cut yourself!"_

_"No shit, that one hurt..." I mumbled. I still didn't cut myself... Idiots._

_"Do they hurt when you make them?" they laughed. _

_"They hurt when they're _given _to me..." I muttered._

_They only laughed more, "What are you trying to blame somebody else? Did your daddy give them to you?"_

_That comment caused tears to flood my eyes._

_"Look! She's crying! Wimp!"_

_I only cried more as they repeated a line I had heard many times from my father. He would say it to his friends, who could care less that I was being abused... 'Look, it's crying! What a wimp!'_

_"Guys," a soft voice whispered, "Cut it out. What if her father _did _abuse her?"_

_I glanced up to see that person get shoved, "That's only on television! Idiot!"_

_"What!" she shouted, "It's a very real thing! Trust me!"_

_"What do you know?" someone sneered._

_Suddenly she shoved them back, "Shut up!"_

_Somebody snickered, "That was weak..."_

_"Yes, and calling someone Bloody-hair isn't?"_

_"You're such an idiot... Go to class if you won't join us." somebody grumbled._

_"No! Algebra sucks!" she rolled her eyes, "However maybe I could tell Mr. Jansen..."_

_"Shut up... You wouldn't tell him." the person retorted._

_"Okay, come on Erza, let's tell him," she smiled tugging at my arm. _

_I suddenly found it hard to breathe, like my breath was slowly being taken away from me. Like the air started to vanish from the Earth. Like my life was being stolen._

I could hear voices. A couple of which I didn't recognize, and a couple of which I could.

"Her Xiphoid Process was broken off." an unknown male voice announced, "We already completed the surgery. You're lucky she's alive."

"Oh, is she sleeping?" Ultear asked.

"N-no," a female voice whispered, "Erza slipped into a coma."

I tried to move. 'I'm awake guys! What do you mean I'm in a coma? I can assure you that I'm awake.'

"Oh," I heard someone mutter. Lucy?

"We would contact her family, but only her father is alive and... Yeah..."

Dammit... Dammit... Dammit! He shouldn't be alive!

"We're going to give you some time alone with her. Press the button for assistance. We've had many recovered coma patients say they could hear others, so Erza likely can hear you."

Hell yeah! I hear you right now! This sucks... I want to be able to move and speak...

I heard a few people leave, and the room was silent, besides the beeping of whatever was connected to me.

"D-Do you really think she can hear us?" A voice asked. Wendy?

Yes! I hear you! I want to talk to you!

"Yeah Wendy," Gray muttered, "I bet she can."

I can! I can hear you!

I heard a few footsteps and someone grabbed my hand. I also felt something... Land on my hand?

"I'm sorry Erza..." Jellal whispered, his voice cracking.

No! It isn't your fault! I'm the one who had the asshole point the gun at me!

"Her heart rate increased," Meredy muttered.

It did? Huh...

"I-I'm going into the other room," Natsu muttered, "Sorry Erza..."

Not you too! Quit blaming yourselves!

"I'm going after him," Lucy muttered.

Lucy...

For a while it was silent.

Guys... Say something! Please!

As if reading my thoughts, Ultear spoke, "I shouldn't have brought her there..."

"Let's not blame ourselves," Gray sighed, "Erza is likely screaming at us right now..."

Yes Gray! I am! Ultear, listen to him!

"Look at her heart rate," Meredy pointed out, slightly chuckling.

Ultear sighed, "Looks like Gray's right, huh?"

Yes! Yes! Yes! He is!

"Calm down Erza," Gray chuckled, "Are you surprised I'm right? Jeez!"

Yes, I am. And fine, I'll calm down, but make Jellal talk! I want to hear his voice...

"Guys?" Wendy sighed, "The doctors need us to leave. It's too hard on her heart."

No! Don't leave! I don't want to listen to stupid doctors!

The others must have nodded or something, and I heard footsteps leaving. Only Jellal stayed a moment more.

Say something... Anything... Please...

"Erza," he whispered, "I love you,"

I love you too.

With that, Jellal dropped my hand. I heard slow footsteps leave the room.

"I'll be back, Erza," he promised.

Good. Visit soon. Please...

**(The next day)**

I mentally jumped when I heard footsteps. Doctors? Again?

"Erza?" Levy's voice echoed,"Sorry I'm late..."

It's fine! It's perfectly fine! Yes! Not a doctor!

"I should have been here at five... Now it's already six thirty in the morning!" she apologized.

It is? Oh well! Who cares if you were late!

"Jellal's talking to the doctors. He wants to stay the night here." she informed.

My heart quickened.

Yay! Jellal!

"Apparently, you need a blood donation..." she muttered quickly, "Ultear's matches, and she talked to the doctors. So there's that.."

A blood donation? Why? I didn't lose that much blood... Did I?

"You were already missing a lot of blood, and getting shot didn't help..." Levy muttered.

Oh... Right... Thanks Levy...

"I got a new book!" she announced.

Did it belong to the person you were half stalking?

"You know... The one the school kid was reading?" she finished.

Ha! Knew it! You're so creepy...

"I'm halfway done!" she exclaimed, "I got it this morning, so that explains why I'm only halfway..."

Of course... You creepy weirdo.

"Oh! Cana said she won't drink until you get better! She's coming later!"

Congratulations, Cana!

"I'll be right back, I need breakfast!" Levy promised.

Okay! Send Jellal in here, would you? Please?

I heard footsteps enter the room a moment later. Jellal?

"Hi Erza..." Wendy muttered.

Not Jellal... But still not a doctor! And Wendy is ten times better than a doctor!

"Guess what!" I heard Wendy jump up and down.

What? Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!

"I got a cat!" Wendy cheered, "An exceed like Natsu's, but she doesn't like cake!"

Good! I like her already! What's her name?

"She's white, and I named her Carla!"

She sounds so cute!

"I think Happy likes her! They met, and he tried to give her a fish!"

Of course... Happy is Natsu's cat. But that's so cute!

"Also, guess who got permission to stay the night?"

Jellal!

"Yep! Jellal!" she cheered, "Also me!"

Yes! Company! People! Not doctors!

"Ultear and Meredy are coming after work. So like two. I think..."

More like five... But oh well... Maybe even eight...

I heard more footsteps, and Wendy spoke.

"Hi Jellal!" she greeted, "Thanks for the ride here..."

My heart rate went up.

Jellal!

"No problem," he mumbled, "Hi Erza..."

Hi!

"Sorry if I sound tired, I didn't get much sleep,"

That's fine! As long as you're talking to me! I missed you!

"I missed you, Erza," he mumbled, "A lot..."

I missed you a lot, too!

I felt Jellal grab my hand. He didn't say another word.

Dammit Jellal! Speak again!

Instead of speaking, he stayed quiet. Then he kissed me.

"Aww..." Wendy muttered.

Yes! That's way better than speaking!

"Back," I heard Levy speak.

Hi Levy! Again!

"Did you know that the breakfast here, tastes like crap?" she exclaimed, then quieted down, "Oops.. That was a bit loud..."

I mentally laughed.

I'm definitely looking forward to when I get to eat breakfast... I know one thing I'm looking forward to! Seeing Jellal! Talking to Jellal! Hearing his voice more than just a couple of times! Jellal... Please talk to me... Please... I can't bear it not hearing your voice...

Jellal lightly kissed my hand, "I love you, Erza..." he whispered.

I could hear the sleepiness in his voice.

Jellal... Get some sleep. I'll be right here when you wake up. I love you too...

**Yes, I put Erza in a coma. Muahahaha! Okay, so please leave a review and let me know what you thought of this chapter. :D**


	13. Chapter 12

**Hey guys! Sorry I didn't post last weekend, I didn't have internet connection then. Anyways, here's the chapter to make up for last weekend, and later today, I will post a chapter for this weekend! Enjoy the chapter!**

**(Jellal's POV)**

It's been just past a month now and Erza still hasn't woken up. Then again, it could be years before she did. Every night, I had slept next to her bedside, holding her hand.

The others would visit every once in a while, but I didn't leave her side even once. Ultear had placed the blame on herself, Natsu placed the blame on himself, and I placed the blame on myself. Gray, Lucy and Wendy tried to get us to snap out of it, but we wouldn't. Meredy was more in the neutral zone. Not doing either.

Right now, I was sitting next to Erza, holding her hand.

"Erza, I'm so sorry..." I mumbled.

I only ever said, 'Good morning', 'Good night', 'I love you', and 'I'm sorry'. I could only hope she could hear me. I could only hope she couldn't hear my tears.

"I'm sorry," I muttered again.

Suddenly I jumped as the door opened. Ultear came into the room. I smiled blankly and she smiled back. As if everything was fine. But everything wasn't fine.

"Hey Jellal," Ultear mumbled, "Hey Erza."

I nodded back and muttered hello. For Erza's sake. She had to know I wasn't ignoring anyone.

"Jellal, you should get some food. You got to skip breakfast, but you do need something to eat." Ultear commented quietly.

I paused. It had been ages since I left the room, other than to go to the toilet. I also normally had food brought to me, by Ultear of course. She was the only one that really understood why I was acting the way I was.

"Keep an eye on Erza, okay?" I nodded.

"I will." Ultear responded.

I nodded once more, "I'll be back soon."

I walked shakily down the hall. Guilt nagged at me, about how nobody told Erza about her father...

It scared me, not knowing when she'd wake up. The doctors wouldn't say, and that wasn't really helpful, hearing an empty 'soon'.

How long was soon anyways? It was just a common excuse people used.

When I got my food, I just barely picked at it. After a while, I dumped it, unable to stay away from Erza. I nearly ran back.

**(Erza's POV)**

Ultear is boring. Simple as that. When will Jellal return? I miss him...

I suddenly heard footsteps. Jellal?

Please... Please... Please be Jellal!

"Back," I heard a familiar mutter.

My heart quickened at his voice.

Jellal! Don't leave me again!

"Did you run here?" Ultear quizzed.

"What! No..." Jellal paused, "Okay, maybe..."

I mentally laughed.

Of course you did...

"Jellal! Look!" Ultear yelled loudly, "Erza moved! She moved! She's smiling!"

"Do you want doctors here?" Jellal chuckled, bliss in his voice.

I smiled? Yes! And Jellal gave more than a one to three word response!

"Sure!" Ultear laughed, "She _moved!_ Hear me? _Erza moved!_"

"I heard you, and so did everyone in the hospital..." Jellal muttered.

Yes! Another long response!

Suddenly Jellal yawned.

"Did you sleep at all last night?" Ultear sighed.

"Yeah-" he yawned, "Not really."

Jellal, go to sleep...

I soon felt him grab my hand again. He lightly kissed it, then rested his head next to me. I also heard footsteps exit the room, Ultear left.

Soon, I heard him lightly snoring and mentally laughed.

I slowly moved my arm, and my hand was soon resting on someone else's. Suddenly, I opened my eyes. Looking around, I noticed I was in a hospital room; I had a few things hooked up to me, and Jellal was sitting in a chair, hunched over, resting his upper body on my hospital bed.

_Wait... Why am I in the hospital? How long have I been here?_

Another thing I noticed was a ton of flowers; I reached over to the nearest one to me, using the hand that wasn't on Jellal's. I brought it closer to me, there was a tag on it and it read, 'I love you. From: Jellal'.

Smiling, I set the flowers down next to me. Then I rolled onto my side and rested my hand on Jellal's shoulder. He moved a bit in his sleep. I lightly shook his shoulder. He moved again. I let out a small laugh then shook his shoulder again, speaking this time.

"Time to wake up, sleepy head..." I chimed.

Jellal lifted his head a tiny bit, "Erza?"

"Could you answer a question for me?" I asked.

"Sure? What's the question?" Jellal asked.

"How did I end up here?" I whispered.

Just as he was about to answer, the door opened and Ultear walked in, "Hey Je-" she cut herself off and screamed excitedly, "Erza! You're awake!"

By now, Jellal had sat up all the way and Ultear was jumping up and down with excitement.

"I love you." Jellal muttered happily.

"I love you too." I responded.

He hugged me, then as he pulled away, he kissed me. Before he could pull back, I pulled him closer to me and hugged him again.

"I missed hearing your voice." Jellal responded, then whispered, "I'm so sorry I let this happen to you..."

"Don't apologize. Something tells me it wasn't your fault," I retorted.

I noticed that Ultear was on the phone.

"Meredy, guess what! Too late! She's awake!" Ultear exclaimed.

Probably not a good thing that Meredy was talking so loud, I could hear exactly what she responded.

"Oh my god! You aren't lying, right? Of course not, you wouldn't lie about something like that! Oh my god, I can't believe it! Yay!" she exclaimed loudly, then almost as if she knew that she was speaking so loudly I could hear her, "Hi Erza! I'm getting in my car to head to the hospital now!"

I laughed, "Tell her that I don't want to speak loudly, but I can't wait to see her."

Ultear told her then hung up the phone.

"What do you all remember about what happened to you?" Ultear asked.

"Um... I don't remember any of it..." I mumbled.

"Oh," Ultear mumbled then began to explain what had happened.

Suddenly, a small group of doctors came in the room, and I held back a frown. The doctors didn't even talk to Ultear or Jellal; they just talked to me.

"Do you remember your name?" one of the doctors, a blonde female, asked.

"Erza..." I started, then tried to remember my last name, "Erza..."

"It's normal for you to not remember your last name. It'll come to you eventually." she interrupted.

"Shut up, I'm thinking." I retorted.

Ultear let out a small laugh, then quickly covered her mouth.

"Um... Erza..." I muttered, I caught a glimpse of my hair out of the corner of my eye.

Oh yeah!

"Erza Scarlet." I answered at once.

"Um no..." one of the other doctors, a male with black hair, replied.

"Yeah it is." I argued.

"No... Your last name is Neumann..." he responded.

I shook my head, "No it isn't."

"Her last name _is _Scarlet..." Jellal muttered.

"We were told that it was Neumann." the doctor replied.

"Well now you're being told that it's Scarlet." Jellal retorted, annoyance in his voice.

I nodded in agreement.

"Who told you it was Neumann?" I asked.

"Umm... Umm... Umm... Someone..." they hesitated.

"Who is that someone?" I asked.

"Someone you know." they tried.

"How do I know that someone?" I asked.

"You just do, okay? We'll be right back..." they replied then quickly left the room.

I folded my arms across my chest and pouted, highly doubting that I'd get an answer out of Ultear or Jellal.

Apparently I was still a little out of it too…

"Jellal... Come lay by me..." I mumbled.

"I can't..." he replied.

"Why not?" I whined.

"Multiple reasons..." he responded.

"Being?" I quizzed.

"The fact that we're at a hospital, you are hooked up to a few machines that could easily break or something like that, and that would be really awkward for Ultear..." he responded.

I groaned, "She can leave..."

"Then there's still the other two things I mentioned." he pointed out.

I groaned again, then rolled onto my side and reached for his hand. I pulled his hand over to me and curled myself around it.

"I don't think you should be moving that much..." Jellal mumbled, "If one of those machines get disconnected from you, the doctors will have to come in here."

"No... I hate doctors." I replied.

I suddenly winced and whined, "My hand hurts..."

"That's because you have stitches in your hand." Jellal explained softly.

"Why...?" I asked.

"You hurt your hand really badly." Jellal told me.

"How...?" I whined.

I could tell that Jellal was trying not to laugh(Admit it... You'd laugh too. I mean... I was practically acting drunk...).

"You got into a fight," he answered.

"With who?" I asked.

"Bad people." he replied.

"Why...?" I whimpered.

"They were being very bad." he responded.

"Oh..." I mumbled. I suddenly flinched, "The doctors are wrong... My last name _is _Scarlet... I remember, I got picked on from it..."

"I know, they're wrong." he replied softly.

I looked over when I heard the door open. Meredy walked into the room with a smile.

"Hi Erza, how are you feeling?" she greeted.

"Hi.. I'm feeling fine..." I mumbled.

"That's good..." she replied.

"What day is it?" I asked.

"It's December 23." Meredy answered.

"Cool," I replied.

"Almost Christmas!" Jellal smiled.

"What's Christmas?" I asked. Meredy and Jellal looked slightly startled.

"Y-you never celebrated Christmas?" Meredy asked.

"No...?" I was confused.

Was I supposed to celebrate Christmas?

"Uh... Christmas has many beliefs... One of which being like Santa and all that or there's a more religious belief... All in all, people put up lights and trees, then they buy presents for their friends and family, showing how much they care." Jellal explained.

"Oh. That's interesting." I replied.

Meredy suddenly screamed, "I told Wendy that if Erza woke up, I'd take her out of school early! I completely forgot! Sorry! I'll be right back!" then she ran out of the room.

"Umm... Okay?" I replied to nobody.

"Well..." Ultear started, "If you haven't celebrated Christmas, did you celebrate any other holidays, like... Thanksgiving, Easter, or Halloween?" she asked.

I tilted my head in confusion.

"I'll take that as a no..." Ultear muttered, "Well, this year, you will celebrate holidays."

"Okay...?" I responded, still confused.

Why did it matter?

The doctors came back into the room.

"Uh... So we just asked again, what your last name was..." one of them stated, "And it is not Scarlet."

"It _is_ Scarlet," I argued.

The doctor shook her head, "Don't worry about it, you'll remember eventually."

"I _do_ remember," I retorted.

They didn't respond, they just looked to Jellal and Ultear, "Could you two leave the room for a while? We want to do some tests to see what memories she's missing."

Jellal and Ultear nodded. Jellal carefully pulled his hand away from me. I whined.

"Don't worry, I'll be back later," he whispered, kissing me on the forehead.

He and Ultear left the room, and I sat up, tucking my legs against my chest.

"Erza, we're going to show you pictures of some people you know, okay? If you remember them at all, tell us who you think they are." the blonde doctor stated.

I shook my head, "No... I don't want to talk to you. I wanna talk to Jellal."

"You can talk to him after we do the tests, okay?" she told me.

"No!" I shouted, "I don't want to talk to you!"

"This is to help you. We need to know what you remember and don't remember." she explained.

"I don't want to remember!" I yelled.

Why didn't I want to remember again?

The doctors sighed, and one of them left the room for a moment, then came back in with Jellal. Jellal walked over to me and took me by the hand.

"Erza, listen to the doctors, okay? I realize that you don't like doctors, but these ones are here to help you." Jellal explained softly, "Can you listen to them? For me?"

I stared at him for a moment, then nodded, "Okay..."

"Thank you." he responded, "I'll be back later, okay?"

"Alright." I replied.

Jellal left the room again and the blonde doctor sat in a chair, in front of my hospital bed. She had a group of photos in her hand.

"Okay... Are you ready?" she asked.

I nodded, "Yeah..."

She flipped one of the photos over. It was a familiar looking man with brown hair. A shiver went up my spine after a couple seconds. I squeezed my eyes shut.

"I don't want to see him!" I yelled.

"Okay, okay. I put the picture down." she replied.

I cautiously opened my eyes. The photo was on her lap while she was still holding the others.

"Do you remember who that was?" she asked.

I hesitated, then gave a half nod, "His name is... Um... Uh... I-I don't know."

That was a lie. His name is Cobra. I hate him.

"Okay... That's just fine. Are you ready for the next one?" she responded.

"Yeah." I replied.

She showed me another photo. It was of a woman with long dark brown hair, with a scarlet tint and brown eyes. There was a voice in my head, nagging at me.

_It's your fault! You worthless thing!_

My fault. Right. Always my fault. Never his. Never anyone else's. Just mine. Only mine. Mine.

"Erza?" the doctor questioned.

"She's my mother," I whispered.

"Good job," she nodded, "Next one?"

I nodded.

She showed me another photo. My father.

My fault. Weak. Worthless. Nothing. Disowned.

"Can you put the picture down?" I asked quietly.

She nodded and set it on her lap, "Do you know who he is?"

"He shot me. That bastard shot me!" I shouted, then mumbled, "He's never gone that far before..." I had tears in my eyes, "My own father... Shot me..."

_Wait, what? Okay..._

She set the pictures to the side, "I've only showed you three pictures and each one, you had a horrified look on your face. You've only wanted to see one of them. Why is that?"

"I wish... My father had left. Not my mother." I whispered, "If she had stayed, I would've changed so she could be proud of me... I would've..."

The doctor sighed, "Okay... Do you want to take a break or just keep going?"

"I want a break..." I mumbled, the tears returning.

"Alright, I'll send Jellal in," she responded, setting the pictures down leaving the room.

Moments later, Jellal walked into the room. He came straight to me and hugged me.

"It's okay..." he whispered.

"Can you... Show me the... The picture of my mom?" I asked quietly.

Jellal nodded and reached over to the table at the end of my hospital bed. He looked at the back of the photos, where I'm guessing it had labels saying who they were. He handed me the picture of my mother, then began looking through the other pictures.

I looked at the picture of my mother.

I whispered, "I'm sorry mom... I didn't mean to disappoint you..."

Jellal glanced at me, "Your mother would be proud of you."

"She left..." I mumbled.

"I'm sure she had her reasons," he responded.

"Me..." I whispered.

Jellal shook his head, "You aren't the reason she left. Not everything if your fault, Erza."

The nagging voice was back.

_It's always your fault! Look at how pathetic you look! A pathetic girl who drove away her own mother!_

The doctor came back into the room before I could respond.

"Are you ready to start again?" she asked.

I hesitated, then nodded.

"Is it okay if I stay in here for this?" Jellal asked.

"As long as you aren't a distraction to Erza," she replied.

"Alright," Jellal sat in a chair at the edge of the room.

The doctor sat down in her chair again and picked up the pictures. She flipped one of them towards me. It was a picture of a girl with golden brown hair and bright green eyes.

"You might not know her name. From what I've heard, you didn't know her personally, but she was a part of your life. You could try to remember where you might know her from." the doctor stated.

"Highschool." I responded, then quoted what I remembered her saying to me multiple times, "'Self-abuse isn't right you know.'"

"What did you say?" the doctor asked, unsure if she heard me correctly.

"She had told me that Self-abuse wasn't right." I spoke louder.

"Okay... Um... Ready for the next one?" she asked.

I nodded and she flipped another picture towards me. It was a picture of a man with silver hair.

Rusty Rose. My father's friend. A murderer.

_Forget anything you heard or saw, got it? Or you're next._

His voice rang in my ears and a began to shake. My heart rate went up.

"Shut up!" I screamed at the voice in my head and buried my face in my knees, whimpering, "Shut up..."

"Erza, nobody said anything..." the doctor replied.

I soon felt Jellal's arms around me.

"Calm down, Erza... Can you explain what you're hearing?" Jellal asked.

I lifted my head, "H-he's talking to me..."

"What is he saying to you?" he asked.

"He's t-telling me n-not to tell anyone... To f-forget what I s-saw... Or th-that I'd b-be n-next..." I whimpered.

"Okay... Do you remember what had happened to make him say that and where you were?" he asked.

"At home... My f-father invited h-him and s-someone e-else over... M-my father w-went to th-the store... I-I was i-in my r-room and I h-heard a scream." I took a deep breath, "When I w-went downstairs... The other p-person was d-dead. Rusty Rose, or at l-least that's w-what he called h-himself, n-noticed that I was th-there.."

"Alright, calm down before you hurt yourself." he responded softly.

I suddenly realized that I had been making a lot of large movements, tugging at the machines that I was hooked up to.

"Sorry..." I mumbled.

"Don't be sorry. Just calm down, okay? I won't let anything happen to you." he replied.

I nodded, still shaking.

"Um... I'll come back later..." the doctor mumbled, getting up and starting to leave the room.

"Could you send Ultear in?" Jellal asked.

The doctor nodded, and left the room. Moments later, Ultear came in the room, followed by Levy.

"You needed me?" Ultear asked.

"Yes and I'm glad Levy's here, that skips a step. F.T.B.I must've been wrong about one of the previous cases. Levy, could you go through the names of the people that are filed as The victims of Erza's father?" he turned to me, "Do you remember the victims name?"

"She never told me... I greeted her and she laughed at me, so my father told me to go to my room..." I mumbled.

"That's okay." he assured me, "Do you remember what she looked like?"

"Barely..." I hesitated, "She had long orange, braided hair... She had red eyes... And... That's all I remember..."

"Alright." Jellal murmured, "Levy, can you get anything off of that?"

"Um... Let's see..." she muttered, already having her laptop out, "It says here that two of the victims were female with orange hair."

"Are there any images of them?" Jellal asked.

"Umm..." she replied, "So far, I can only find one for one of them..."

"That's fine. Can I see your laptop for a moment?" Jellal responded.

Levy nodded and handed him the laptop. He turned the screen towards me.

"Is this her?" he asked.

I nodded, "That's her."

He gave the laptop back to Levy.

"Ultear, could you tell Director Makarov? I would, but he's still kind of mad at me... So yeah..." Jellal muttered.

"You big baby! He's not going to eat you if you talk to him, but fine!" Ultear exclaimed.

A nurse came in the room.

"Sorry, should we leave?" Levy asked the nurse.

"No, it's fine." the nurse smiled, "I just need to give Erza her medication, it'll be quick."

"Okay." Levy replied.

The nurse came over to me and gave me a shot in the arm.

"She'll probably act a bit strange now, but it'll wear off eventually." the nurse informed, then left.

Ultear followed her out, meanwhile Jellal was staring at me and Levy was staring at her laptop.

I shifted uncomfortably, "What?"

"Earlier, you said something about your High School experience, about how you knew for a fact that your last name was Scarlet." Jellal commented.

"I did?" I asked in shock.

"Yeah, you said something about being picked on from your last name," he responded.

I glanced down, "Yeah, but it's no big deal..."

"What was that comment about self-abuse being bad, that you mentioned earlier? The one girl had told you that self-abuse was bad," he added.

"It's nothing..." I mumbled.

Jellal sighed, "I was afraid you'd say that..."

"I'm tired, but I don't wanna sleep," I muttered.

"Get some rest. I'll be right here when you wake up," he stated.

"Promise?" I asked.

"I promise."

I nodded and laid down.

It would probably be best if I fell asleep before the medicine kicked in. Who knew what I'd say next?

Jellal sat down in the chair next to my bed and grabbed my hand. I curled myself around his hand and 'fell asleep'.

**(Jellal's POV)**

I had Ultear come back and help me straighten Erza's body after she fell asleep, so she wouldn't unhook one of the machines connected to her. Levy had left to go help Macao with something. Probably to 'fix' Gajeels computer. Again.

"Jellal, you should get some sleep as well." Ultear recommended quietly.

I shook my head, "I'm fine."

"You barely slept since it happened!" she exclaimed in a hushed tone, "I bet that total, you only got thirty-eight hours of sleep. You should have way more than that!"

"I'm fine, Ultear." I muttered.

"Erza wouldn't want you sleep deprived." Ultear pointed out.

I sighed, "Fine, but I'm staying right here. I promised Erza that I'd be here when she woke up."

"Okay, as long as you get some sleep." Ultear replied.

**(Erza's POV)**

They thought I was asleep. I wasn't. I didn't plan on sleeping until Jellal decided to sleep. While he talked, I could hear the sleepiness in his voice.

"Jellal, you should get some sleep as well." Ultear recommended quietly.

"I'm fine." Jellal replied.

"You barely slept since it happened!" Ultear exclaimed in a hushed tone, "I bet that total, you only got thirty-eight hours of sleep. You should have way more than that!"

Jellal... Get some sleep, dammit!

"I'm fine, Ultear." Jellal muttered.

"Erza wouldn't want you sleep deprived." Ultear pointed out.

Jellal sighed, "Fine, but I'm staying right here. I promised Erza that I'd be here when she woke up."

Awww! Jellal, you're so sweet!

"Okay, as long as you get some sleep." Ultear replied.

Good job Ultear. Make him sleep.

I waited until I heard light snores from Jellal, then I opened my eyes. Ultear was standing by the door, looking at me.

"You go to sleep too." she instructed.

I smiled, "I will."

I closed my eyes again and soon drifted to sleep.

**Yay! Erza's no longer in a coma! Well, please leave a review and let me know what you thought of the chapter!**


	14. Chapter 13

**This is the chapter for this weekend, I hope you enjoy it!**

Apparently, it was Christmas. I still didn't understand the 'holiday', but I pretended that I did because Ultear, Meredy, and Jellal always seemed saddened when I didn't understand it. I didn't like it when they seemed sad.

Jellal was still asleep, and holding my hand. Meredy and Ultear were either on their way to the hospital, or still sleeping at their houses.

Suddenly, Jellal looked up, yawning.

"Good morning..." I muttered, mocking his sleepiness.

He let out a slight laugh, "Good morning to you too, Erza."

I smiled back.

"Merry Christmas!" he smiled, knowing I didn't understand.

"Merry Christmas?" I responded hesitantly.

Jellal smiled once more, "Should I explain it once more?"

I nodded, "Yeah... Ultear tried explaining it again yesterday, but she's confusing..."

He nodded, "So Christmas is the 25th of December. It's when people gather together to exchange gifts. Understand so far?"

"Yeah." I replied.

"Okay," he nodded, "So on Christmas Day, people typically exchange gifts underneath a decorated pine tree. I know, it's weird. It's just a tradition. They also keep the gifts underneath the tree before hand, to build up anticipation. Sometimes entire families gather the day before, and then only close family's on the actual day. Okay?"

"Okay... That's weird... Since when do families spend time together?" I asked.

Jellal's eyes widen slightly, but he quickly hid it, "Err, umm, normal families do? Sorry, but yours kinda wasn't..."

"I figured..." I muttered.

"Little kids," Jellal continued, "believe in Santa Claus. Their parents hide the presents until the kids are asleep the night before. The presents normally say they are from Santa. I would describe Santa, but unless you're a little kid, he seems like a stalker and rapist."

"Then why exactly do people give kids that description of Santa...?" I asked.

"I don't know. It's all really just 'be good and you get presents', but that means that Santa has to know if they are good, and so a stalker is born." he explained.

"Still... People could've come up with a better lie.. Like, 'your parents will tell Santa if you've been good or bad...'" I pointed out.

"Do you have a time machine?" he pointed out.

"How'd you find out I had one?" I joked.

He laughed, "You wouldn't exactly be in a hospital though..."

"Well.. You can't have everything your way." I replied.

"But you can have this your way," he smiled, then kissed me, pulling me slightly closer to them. Then, he slowly pulled me into a hug, cradling me in his arms. One of the machines beeped in warning, and Jellal only slightly moved.

"Stupid machines," he scoffed, "I can tell them your heart is beating."

I smiled, "Yeah, I could tell them too."

Suddenly the door opened slightly and Meredy's voice gushed into the room, "Ultear! I told you they were being cute!"

I blushed and hid my face against Jellal's shoulder.

"Well if you want to ruin the moment..." Jellal called, "Come in, I guess."

I smiled, then turned to face them again.

"Merry Christmas." I greeted, then turned to Jellal, "I used that correctly, right?"

"Yes," he rolled his eyes, laughing.

"Okay, good." I responded.

"Hey Jellal, catch." Ultear nodded, then tossed a neatly wrapped box to him.

Jellal just barely managed to catch it.

"Your turn, Erza." Ultear nodded to me, then tossed a neatly wrapped box to me.

She was a little off with her throw. I caught it before it could hit Jellal in the face.

"_I'm _going to be nice about it..." Meredy mumbled walking over to us and handing us neatly wrapped gifts.

Jellal reached under his chair and pulled out three boxes. He handed a small, long rectangular one to me, then tossed the other two to Meredy and Ultear.

"Erza, you first." Ultear nodded.

"Open the one from Jellal first!" Meredy exclaimed.

"Yeah, I want to see what he got you." Ultear agreed.

"It's your choice, Erza." Jellal smiled.

I set the ones from Ultear and Meredy to the side, then carefully untied the bow on the gift from Jellal.

"You can rip the paper." Ultear pointed out.

"But it's pretty." I argued, then neatly unwrapped the gift.

Beneath the wrapping paper, there was a white box. I lifted the lid and in the box, there was a silver necklace with a heart on it, and a pair of diamond earrings. I smiled and hugged Jellal.

After Meredy and Ultear were done going on about how cute we were, I opened the gifts from them. Meredy had gotten me a 'Make your own sword' kit, while Ultear got me the ingredients to make strawberry cake, minus the strawberries because I wasn't getting out of the hospital soon.

Meredy had gotten Ultear a pair of black boots that went to her thighs. Jellal had gotten Ultear a black blanket with some weird, yellow symbol on it(Crime Sorciere Symbol). Meanwhile, Jellal had gotten Meredy a dark blue cloak, which made her extremely happy, apparently she had wanted it for a long time. Ultear had gotten Meredy a red dress with a golden bow around the waist.

Meredy quickly went to the bathroom, and changed into her dress and cloak. She looked pretty in them. Ultear switched her tennis shoes out with her new boots. I didn't want to put on my necklace and earrings though. I didn't want the first time I wore them to be while I was in the hospital.

**Yay! Erza's first Christmas! Please leave a review and let me know what you thought of the chapter!**


	15. Chapter 14

**Hey guys! Sorry I didn't update yesterday, I went to a movie and got picked up from school late. Anyways, enjoy the chapter!**

After waking up from a coma, the doctors kept insisting that my last name wasn't Scarlet, but it was. I remembered being picked on from it and I eventually remembered my father 'disowning' me and changing my last name, when I was six. Which, the doctors insisting that I didn't know my last name, made me hate them more.

The memory tests weren't any better. Especially the one whereas they showed me pictures. I'm sure that part of it was also just to get my reaction to specific things because some of the pictures were of wounds.

After six weeks of hell, they were finally letting me out of the hospital. I was extremely excited. Although, during my stay at the hospital, my father left the building in the middle of the night, so he wouldn't get arrested as soon as he healed. Minerva also left the hospital in the middle of the night. I was still excited to leave the damn place though.

Right now, Jellal and I were in his car, driving to the agency.

"Nobody ever did tell me..." I hesitated, "Did you guys finish that case that we were in the middle of?"

"Yeah... Ultear and the others finished it while you were in a coma." Jellal answered.

"Natsu never came to visit me, except for that first day, did he?" I asked.

"He still feels bad about what happened... According to Ultear, he hasn't been at work either." Jellal explained.

I sighed, "Do you all feel guilty about it?"

"Gray doesn't." Jellal replied.

"I meant out of the people who were there, as in you, me, Ultear, and Natsu." I mumbled.

"Then... Yes." Jellal answered.

"Why?" I asked, "Why do you all feel guilty for my own stupidity?"

"It's not your own stupidity, Erza," Jellal sighed, "It's _all_ of ours."

I groaned, "I'm the one who insisted on going with Ultear."

"Ultear brought you, I was the reason you were brought in the first place, and Natsu could have shot your father sooner. See?" Jellal insisted.

"I guess so..." I mumbled, looking out the window. Neither of us said another word until suddenly Jellal was poking me.

"Erza?" he asked, "We're here…"

"Oh.. Sorry." I have no clue why I apologized, but I felt the need to. Jellal just sighed and got out of the car. A few moments later my door opened, causing me to almost fall.

"Umm…" Jellal started awkwardly.

"Uh.. Right. Um... Let's go inside." I replied quickly, getting out of the car. We walked inside and-

"ERZA!" Wendy screamed, running to me, "I missed you!"

I jumped when she hugged me tightly.

"Hi Wendy." I greeted.

"I would have came to the hospital before, and Meredy even got me out of school, but the stinking doctors wouldn't let me see you!" she whined.

"Another reason to hate doctors..." I responded.

"I insisted on waiting here," Wendy smiled up at me, "For as long as it took!"

"Did Mira take care of you?" I asked.

"Yeah!" Wendy nodded, "She even gave me cookies!"

I laughed, "Did the cookies taste good?"

"Yeah! Even Carla-" she paused, "YOU NEED TO MEET MY CAT!"

"Okay, but there's no need to scream..." I replied.

"YES THERE IS!" she was jumping up and down, "SHE IS AWESOME!"

"Alright..." I paused, "Awesomer than Natsu's stupid cat?"

"Way awesomer!" she nodded.

I smiled, "That's good because Natsu's cat isn't very awesome." I hesitated, "Wanna know a secret?"

Wendy nodded excitedly.

"Natsu's cat is kind of awesome and I don't hate him _that_ much..." I whispered to her, "But don't tell Natsu."

"Don't worry, I won't tell him." she responded, "Now come on! You _need_ to meet Carla! Right now she's in Mira's office."

Wendy grabbed me by the hand and started dragging me towards the elevator.

"Erza!" Meredy exclaimed, running over to me and giving me a big hug, which was the only thing that kept me from falling.

"Holy crap... Hi Meredy." I greeted

"I missed you! The doctors were so mean! They only let Jellal and Ultear visit you!" Meredy whined.

"I was only allowed in there when I needed to help keep Erza calm." Ultear pointed out, "Jellal was in there to make sure she didn't do anything stupid and to keep her from yelling at everyone."

I frowned, "I didn't yell..."

"Actually... You did... You were yelling at the doctors, telling them to get the hell away from you..." Jellal muttered.

"Oh... Well... A majority of the time, I listened..." I responded hesitantly.

"No you didn't... A majority of the time, you were plugging your ears, saying that you couldn't hear us.." Jellal corrected.

"Why don't I remember any of this?" I asked.

"Um... The medicine had a very odd effect on you... Thus leading to you being unable to remember what happened, which probably isn't a good thing..." Jellal answered.

"Oh... Well..." I started, "Meredy, you can let go of me now..."

"Oh right..." she mumbled, letting her arms drop to her sides.

"Erza! Come on! You need to meet Carla!" Wendy exclaimed.

"I'll be back down after I meet her cat." I announced, walking into the elevator with Wendy.

We went to the floor that Mira's office was on and Wendy led me down the halls. She opened the door and pulled me inside.

Wendy walked over to Mira's desk and pulled out a cage.

"Hi Carla!" Wendy exclaimed, unlocking the cage and pulling a cat out, "This is Erza, the one I've been telling you about."

"Hello Carla." I greeted the cat.

Carla meowed at me and Wendy laughed, "That's the opposite greeting of what Happy got! Happy got the silent treatment, you got a 'Hello'."

"Well, I'm glad I didn't get the same type of greeting Happy got." I informed.

Wendy smiled, "Well it seems that Carla likes you."

"We should get out of Mira's office now, you can bring Carla with." I replied.

Wendy nodded in response. We left the office and began walking towards the elevator. I smiled when I saw Jellal waiting by it.

"I thought I should tell you that everyone decided to go to the cafeteria." Jellal explained.

"Okay, let's go." I replied.

We went into the elevator and up to the cafeteria.

"Welcome back, Erza!" Mira called when the elevator doors opened.

"Mira, you actually got it correct this time! Last time it was Natsu and Lucy!" Gray exclaimed, getting elbowed in the ribs by Mira in return.

"Natsu's here?" I asked.

Mira nodded and pointed to the table in the far corner of the room. I walked over to the table that he and Lucy were sitting at.

"Sulking about it won't help, you know?" I informed.

"Hey Erza..." Natsu mumbled.

"Natsu, this isn't like you. I'm alive, aren't I? That's all that should matter." I stated.

"Yeah... I guess... I just feel bad.." he muttered.

"Don't feel bad. It's not your fault." I replied.

"Its not your fault either." Jellal sounded behind me, making me jump.

"I know..." I mumbled, "Tell Natsu to quit blaming himself."

"Erza, I can't do that..." Jellal sighed.

I slammed my fist onto the table, "Why? Because you also blame yourself?"

"We have reasons to blame ourselves." Jellal replied, "We couldn't protect you."

"I don't care if you couldn't protect me! You still helped me!" I shouted, causing others to look in our direction.

"Erza, it's our job to protect others. We failed to protect you, instead, we put you in danger." Jellal kept his voice calm.

"I'd have been in danger no matter what, and you know it!" I retorted.

"You wouldn't have been in as much danger though. You've nearly died three times now," he hesitated, "Well... Technically four, if you count three years ago."

"Why can't you just accept the fact that, as long as my father's out of prison, my life will always be in danger, no matter what you do?" by now, I wasn't even close to calm.

"Erza, calm down..." Natsu muttered.

"Why should I calm down? You two-" I began.

"Erza," Jellal interrupted.

I looked over to Jellal. He leaned down and kissed me.

"We understand that it isn't our faults... But it's not yours either." Jellal whispered after he pulled back.

"It's always my fault..." I mumbled.

Jellal looked confused, "Where's that coming from? It's not always your fault..."

I glanced down at my feet, "B-but..."

He grabbed me by the shoulders, "Erza, look me in the eye."

I looked up at him.

"It isn't always your fault." he told me sternly.

I found myself nodding in response. Tears stung my eyes and Jellal pulled me into a hug.

"What makes you think that it's always your fault?" Natsu asked.

"Her fa-" Lucy started.

Ultear stepped on her foot, cutting her off.

"Ow!" Lucy screamed.

"I _stepped_ on your foot... It shouldn't hurt that badly..." Ultear muttered.

"Thanks Ultear..." I mumbled against Jellal's chest.

"Cheer up. I know that you just got down yelling at Jellal and Natsu, and all that... But you just got out of the hospital, you shouldn't be moping." Ultear stated, "Plus... Mira made fresh strawberry cake..."

I smiled and looked at Ultear, "You're sure about the strawberry cake?"

"Yes, and I'm sure you could easily talk Jellal into getting you a piece of cake." she answered.

I looked up at Jellal, "You should go get me a piece of that cake."

Jellal laughed, "Okay, bossy, one piece of strawberry cake for you."

I sat down at the table, by Natsu and Lucy, while Jellal left to go get me a piece of cake. Ultear, Meredy, and Wendy also sat down by us. Moments later, Jellal came back with a piece of cake and he set it down in front of me, then sat down next to me.

After a few minutes, I was done with my cake, Gray came and sat down by us. We were sitting at a fairly large table, just so you know.

Ultear pretended to cough, "Gray... Forgetting something?"

"No...?" Gray responded, confused.

"Yeah... You are..." Meredy muttered.

"What?" he asked.

I laughed, "Check to make sure you're wearing clothes next time."

"Ahh! Not again! Dammit, Juvia's going to be stalking me! Again!" Gray exclaimed, getting up and running to the bathroom.

_Juvia... I've heard that name a couple of times..._

Obviously, I still hadn't met everyone at the agency. I was in the hospital for a little over three months, and I was only at the agency, for work, for a week or two before that. Juvia's name sounded familiar though, but I knew I hadn't met her.

"Juvia is Grays stalker," Ultear explained, "She has a 'small' crush on him..."

"Well at least someone doesn't mind his stripping problem..." I pointed out.

"I think it's more than a problem..." Meredy muttered.

"An obsession?" I guessed.

"Maybe..." Ultear nodded.

"Seems like it." Meredy agreed.

"I bet Juvia is waiting in the bathroom for him!" Ultear laughed.

"Yeah," Jellal nodded, "I caught her there once..."

I laughed, "Well, as long as she doesn't touch my strawberry cake, I have no problem with her."

"Don't worry, nobody would dare touch your cake, Erza..." Jellal joked.

"Natsu especially wouldn't... I mean... Surely he remembers the last time he did..." I muttered.

"I do," Natsu muttered.

"Well... I don't react that way _every_ time. I just happened to be in an _extremely_ pissy mood that day." I replied.

"You're always in a pissy mood," Lucy laughed.

"Except for when I'm not in a pissy mood." I pointed out.

"So whenever you're kissing- Ow! Ultear!" Meredy clutched her stomach.

"Not _just_ when I'm kissing Jellal..." I mumbled, "There's also when I'm eating strawberry cake. Don't forget about the cake."

"Never forget about the cake," they agreed.

I smiled, "Also... Never eat the cake... But that rule only occurs for anyone who isn't me."

"Duh..." Natsu nodded.

"Of course you'd respond to that..." I teased, "You know for a fact what happens to anyone that eats my cake."

"Yeah.. They get chased by you... While you're holding a sword..." Natsu muttered.

"No... That's when Happy eats some of my cake. When a person eats some of my cake, they get chased by me while I'm holding two swords." I corrected.

"What happens if they eat some of your cake while you're here?" Gray asked, returning from the bathroom, with clothes on.

I smirked, "I guess you'll just have to wait and find out."

Natsu shook his head, "You do _not_ want to find out!"

I leaned against Jellal and rested my head on his shoulder.

"Natsu, why are you shaking?" Ultear suddenly asked.

"W-why are y-you s-stepping on my f-foot?" Natsu responded.

"Whoops, I meant for that to be Lucy's foot!" Ultear exclaimed.

"What?" Lucy exclaimed wide-eyed, pulling her feet onto her seat.

I smiled and closed my eyes.

Ultear laughed, "You're really jumpy..."

"You're strong! It felt like you were crushing my foot when you stepped on it earlier!" Lucy retorted.

"Please... I'm not as strong as Erza." Ultear replied.

My eyes shot open. They were all looking at me, and I shifted uncomfortably. Jellal put his arm around me and kissed the side of my head.

"I think you and Erza have the same strength." Gray commented.

"We could test to see who's stronger." Ultear suggested.

Jellal glared at her.

"I'm joking..." Ultear mumbled.

"Yeah Jellal, nobody would dare try to hurt _your_ Erza..." Meredy teased, causing me to blush.

I turned my head and buried my face against Jellal's shoulder.

Meredy giggled, "Oh Erza... You and Jellal are so adorable together!"

"I second what Meredy said." Wendy commented.

I lifted my head and kissed Jellal.

"Gross! PDA!" Natsu and Lucy exclaimed.

I smirked at them, "So... I can't kiss my boyfriend, but you two can make out anyt- Hey! Don't kick me!"

I kicked Natsu's shin.

"Ow! Why'd you kick me? Lucy kicked you!" Natsu exclaimed.

"What?" Lucy jumped out of her seat and stood behind Natsu's.

"Relax.. I'm not going to kick you..." I sighed, "This time."

"That's even scarier!" Lucy pointed out.

"Oh... Whoops... Would you rather have me kick you now?" I replied.

"How about, don't kick me? Kick Natsu in my place." Lucy suggested.

I kicked Natsu's shin, "Done."

"Ow! You kicked the same spot!" Natsu exclaimed.

"Talk to Lucy... She told me to kick you..." I muttered, making Ultear laugh.

Lucy cautiously sat down.

Later that day, Jellal drove me home. I was just about to get out of the car, but suddenly stopped.

"Jellal, could you stay with me?" I asked.

"Erza-" he started.

"Please? I'm scared..." I admit.

Jellal sighed, "Okay."

He turned off his car and got out. We walked into my house. I laughed when Jellal went straight to the refrigerator.

"What? I'm hungry... And there better be good food here, not Lucy's crap food. According to Ultear, she only eats healthy food, and healthy food is gross." Jellal informed.

"Well... Most of the food here is Lucy's food so... You can have some of my cake." I decided.

"Honestly... I don't trust that..." Jellal mumbled.

I rolled my eyes and walked over to the counter, "You can hide my swords from me, if it makes you feel safer."

I pulled a sword out from under the counter and set it in front of him.

"Want the other nine?" I asked.

"I'll pass..." Jellal muttered.

I shrugged, "Okay. Well, eat my cake if you're hungry. I'm going to go take a shower."

I turned around and began walking down the hallway, then suddenly paused. I pulled a sword out from behind Lucy's dresser and tossed it into the hall.

"Now you know where three swords are! Assuming that you already knew about the one under the table..." I called back to Jellal.

"I'm so relieved... Especially since you have seven more somewhere around here..." Jellal replied sarcastically.

I smiled, "Be careful if you sit on the couch, Natsu learned the hard way."

"I think I'm going to be careful with anything I do... Despite the fact that you have ten swords and two guns, this house isn't very safe..." Jellal responded.

"I also have seven throwing knives." I added, "They're under my nightstand."

"I'm so relieved..." he was being sarcastic again.

"Quit being sarcastic, or I'll make you starve." I threatened.

"Would you really?" he tested.

"No..." I frowned.

Jellal laughed and I walked to the bathroom. I took a quick shower, then changed into blue pajamas with anchors on them. I walked out into the living room, where Jellal was watching TV.

"What are you watching?" I asked.

"I'm not sure... I haven't really been paying attention." Jellal hesitated, "Do you keep one of your guns in your couch pillow?"

I laughed, "Yes, I do."

"That would explain one of the reasons why I can't get comfortable, I already knew the other reason because you told me..." Jellal mumbled.

I smiled and sat down by him, "I'm surprised that Lucy hasn't noticed yet."

"That surprises me too... How did she not notice the sword in the couch? Especially since Natsu learned the hard way..." Jellal agreed.

"Oh... That's because Lucy was in the bathroom when Natsu sat on the sword and I told him that we had angry rats in our couch." I explained.

"And he actually believed it?" Jellal questioned.

"Yeah... Then he told Lucy, and she wouldn't sit on the couch for two months." I added.

"Wow..." Jellal sighed.

I grabbed the remote from the coffee table and curled up against Jellal. After searching the channels for ten minutes, I found a movie to watch. It was called 'A Golden Christmas'. I didn't pay much attention to it, it was really boring.

Jellal was already asleep, and I rested my head on his shoulder, soon falling asleep too.

_I was in a place that I had never been before. It was old and dungeon-like. I jumped at every little noise. Every once in a while, I'd cautiously look behind me, but I didn't know why. Suddenly, gun shots echoed throughout the room._

_I screamed, then looked around to see where they were coming from. There was a sudden pain in between my lungs, and I felt like I couldn't breathe._

I jolted awake, breathing heavily. I had accidentally woken Jellal up, and he looked concerned.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Y-yeah... It was just a bad dream..." I mumbled.

Jellal pulled me into a hug, which made me realize that I was trembling. I wrapped my arms around him and rested my head on his shoulder. Soon, I began to cry.

"It's okay, Erza..." Jellal assured me, "Would you like to tell me what your dream was about?"

I shook my head and tears threatened to pour out of my eyes.

Suddenly, there was a sound of glass breaking. Only, it didn't sound like it was something from the house, it was something outside. I quickly wiped my eyes and started to get up.

"That's probably your car..." I muttered.

I reached over to the pillow that had been pushed onto the floor at some point, and pulled open part of the stitches, pulling out my gun. I quickly walked over to my front door and opened it, pointing my gun in the direction of Jellal's car.

"Angel, I didn't expect you to be one to destroy a car..." I informed, "I'd expect something like that out of Cobra or Rusty Rose."

Angel smirked, "We're all full of surprises. I mean... It's a huge surprise that you're still alive, but trust me... That won't last long. I'd say maybe... A few weeks."

Jellal appeared behind me and Angel quickly ran off.

"She won't get very far..." Jellal murmured.

I looked at him questioningly.

"Do you really think that we'd leave your house unprotected? Ultear is waiting one block down." Jellal explained.

A few moments later, Ultear's car pulled up. Meredy was driving and Ultear was in the back, with Angel.

"Anybody up for an interrogation in the middle of the night?" Meredy asked.

I smiled, "I'm up for it." I looked at Jellal, "How about you?"

"Alright, as long as you're okay with it." Jellal responded.

"Okay, my car's just around the corner." Meredy informed, "Here's the keys."

She tossed her keys to Jellal, and he just barely managed to catch them. We shut my front door and walked to where Meredy said her car was. We followed Ultear and Meredy to the agency.

Ultear dragged Angel to one of the interrogation rooms, and we followed them. Ultear came out of the room, so we could decide who would interrogate Angel.

"Can I interrogate her?" Meredy asked.

"I think Erza should." Ultear replied.

"No, she can't. Remember? The doctors said she could-" Meredy started but cut herself off.

"Wait, what?" I asked, "What did they say?"

"Uh... Shit..." Ultear muttered.

I looked at Jellal expectantly.

"Umm..." Jellal looked away.

"Seriously? I'm not even going to get an answer?" I muttered, "Why can't you guys be more like Natsu and Lucy?"

"Uhh... Ultear, you go start the interrogation... We'll talk to Erza." Meredy sighed.

Ultear went into the interrogation room and started.

"What did the doctors say about me?" I asked again.

"Umm..." Meredy looked to Jellal, who shook his head.

"You've got to be kidding me!" I exclaimed, "Am I not allowed to know what's wrong with myself?"

"Erza, there's nothing wrong with you. It's just that, certain things are bad for your health." Jellal explained.

"Then just tell me!" I shouted.

Ultear came back out of the interrogation room.

"She's not giving up any information. She said that she won't talk unless Erza is in there." Ultear informed.

Jellal shook his head, "There is no way in hell that I'm letting her in there."

"It's not necessarily your choice..." Ultear mumbled.

"Ultear, you know what the doctors said." Meredy pointed out.

"Screw it. If she won't talk unless I'm in there, then I'm going in there." I interrupted.

"If that's what you want, then okay." Ultear responded, "But it _is_ bad for you."

"Whatever..." I muttered.

Ultear brought me into the interrogation room.

"Do you want me to stay in here, or no?" Ultear asked.

"If you want more answers, I'd say no." Angel interrupted.

"Ultear, you can leave, I'll be fine." I muttered, then walked over to the table that Angel was sitting at.

I waited until Ultear left the room.

"Angel, I'm going to guess that my father sent you to try to destroy Jellal's car." I started.

"Oh.. Look at who's gotten smarter since I last saw her." Angel cooed.

"Someone's gotten bitchier..." I muttered, then spoke louder, "Where is my father?"

"I don't know. He called me and told me to do it." Angel lied.

"You know where he is." I retorted, "Where is he?"

"Sorry, I'm sworn to secrecy." she lied again.

"You are a terrible liar. I could lie better than you when I was seven." I muttered, then leaned back in my seat, "Fine... If you won't tell me where my father is, then what are you guys up to?"

Angel smiled, "Well... Rusty Rose probably just broke Cobra out of prison..." she paused, waiting for my reaction.

I shrugged, even though I was scared.

"Just know... That a Ravens fire, will burn up your life." she murmured.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I snapped.

"Your life is coming to an end..." she answered sweetly.

"So you'll admit that you're plotting to kill me, but you won't tell me where my father is?" I asked, staring at her blankly.

She smiled, "That's right."

"Well, I guess that's that." I replied, forcing my fear away.

"Admit it, you're afraid." Angel taunted.

"I'm not afraid." I retorted.

"Oh really? According to Rusty Rose, you witnessed him murdering someone... Oh and Cobra-" she started.

"Shut up!" I interrupted.

She smirked, "Yes... That one can always get you to break..."

I rolled my eyes, then began to walk out of the room. I heard her chair move slightly and looked back in time to see her throw a knife at me. Part of me said to dodge, while another part said to try and catch the knife.

Just before it could hit me, I managed to grab it by the handle.

_That was just pure luck... I'm such an idiot..._

"Nice try, but you're going to need to have better skills if you want to hit me." I smirked.

Seconds later, Ultear came into the room.

"Holy shit! I'm so sorry, Erza! I checked her for weapons, but didn't find any!" Ultear exclaimed.

Meredy came in just behind her, and took me by the arm, pulling me out of the room.

"I don't think you want to see Ultear go on a psychotic rant... She goes crazy when she messes up on her job..." Meredy muttered.

I nodded in response.

"Now, will you please tell me how that was bad for me?" I asked.

Meredy looked at Jellal, and when I looked over, I saw him slightly shake his head.

"Why is it so bad for me to know?" I exclaimed.

Meredy opened her mouth to speak, but I walked away from them and out of the building. I began my long walk home, but didn't get very far. Meredy's car suddenly pulled up beside me.

"You shouldn't walk home. Especially since you just found out that your father is plotting to kill you." Meredy informed.

I hesitated for a moment, "Fine..."

I got into the passengers seat of the car, and Meredy began to drive again.

"Jellal doesn't mean to hurt you by not telling you..." Meredy started, "He just thinks it would hurt you more if you found out... But you can't blame him, I mean, you told Levy that you wouldn't do anything stupid, but you went and cut yourself. Then, you told Ultear that you deserved the cuts."

"She told you about that?" I questioned.

"Me and Jellal." she turned to face me, "He's just afraid of what your reaction will be."

"So... He doesn't trust me." I concluded.

"It's not that he doesn't trust you, you're just so unpredictable." Meredy replied.

I rolled my eyes, and looked out the window.

**So... That was this chapter... XD There were a few events in here... Anyways, leave a review and let me know what you think!**

Moments later, we were in front of my house. I got out of the car without saying a word, and went inside my home.

When I got inside, I went to my room and sat down on my bed. Eventually, I laid down and fell asleep.

I woke up at two in the morning, screaming. I had the same dream I had earlier, only this time, it was more vivid.

**So... That was this chapter... XD There were a few different events in this chapter... Anyways, please leave a review and let me know what you think!**


	16. Chapter 15

****Hey everyone! Sorry I didn't post this on Friday or over the weekend! I just recently got back from camping. Anyways, enjoy this chapter!****

**I didn't get much sleep the night before, but now I still had to go to work. Honestly, I didn't want to go to work. I still didn't want to face Jellal. Sighing, I got up and went through my normal routine to get ready. This time, I put on skinny jeans and a crimson T-shirt. I decided against wearing a sweatshirt though.**

**Rather than waking up at six, I had woken up at five and managed to get ready by six. I text Meredy, asking if she could pick me up and bring me to work, rather than Jellal picking me up. After Meredy replied, telling me that she could pick me up in fifteen minutes, I sat down at my kitchen counter and stared blankly at the wall.**

****(Jellal's POV)****

**The night before, after Meredy and Erza left, I had to keep Ultear and Angel from going to war with each other. I knew that I wasn't really being fair to Erza, but I wasn't going to risk telling her what the doctors had told me, Ultear, and Meredy. **

**Right now, I had just gotten to work. I was a half hour sooner, but Meredy had told me that Erza had asked her to give her a ride. I put my hands in my pockets and walked inside.**

**"Good morning, Jellal!" Mirajane greeted.**

**"Morning..." I greeted with less enthusiasm.**

**She tilted her head in confusion, "Where's Erza?"**

**"Meredy is picking her up." I answered.**

**"Oh... Why didn't you pick her up?" she asked.**

**I winced, "I don't want to talk about it..."**

**Before she could question me anymore, I quickly walked over to the elevator.**

****(Erza's POV)****

**Meredy picked me up a quarter to seven. She also had to pick up Ultear though. Apparently, Jellal had confiscated Ultear's car. **

**When we got to the agency, we noticed that Mira looked confused. Completely confused.**

**"What did you guys do last night?" Mira asked when she saw us.**

**"Jellal's car nearly got destroyed." Ultear responded.**

**"We interrogated the person." Meredy added.**

**"Erza almost got stabbed." Ultear muttered.**

**"Erza and Jellal are in a fight." Meredy finished.**

**"Oh... Why exactly? And wait... Why were you guys here? What time was it?" Mira ranted.**

**"It was midnight. We were interrogating someone, who was technically part of the Neumann case. And... Judging by Erza glaring at her feet... I probably shouldn't bring up the whole Jellal thing..." Meredy mumbled.**

**"Did Jellal do something wrong?" Mira asked, her attention directed to me, "He's a good person... I can't believe he did anything wrong on purpose." **

**They looked at me, waiting for a reaction.**

**"Just leave me alone." I retorted, then turned and walked away.**

**Rather than taking the elevator, I took the stairs and went to my office. I sat down behind my desk and rested my elbow on it, then propped my head up on my hand. I took out the necklace that Jellal had given me for Christmas, and stared at it blankly as I swung it in front of myself.**

**"Do you remember how happy you were when you got that?" Meredy's voice interrupted my thoughts.**

**I flinched, dropping the necklace on my desk.**

**"Yeah... I remember..." I muttered.**

**"Don't ignore Jellal... Trust me, he's been a lot happier since you came here." Meredy replied.**

**I let out a slight laugh, "I don't believe that. Nobody's ever happy to see me."**

**"Oh really? Before you came here, he barely did anything. That day you actually met him, Ultear somehow managed to talk him into a race. Ultear had to talk him into doing things, which was really hard to do... But she somehow managed it every time." Meredy responded.**

**"Well... I'm glad he's happy..." I yawned.**

**"Are you okay? You look... Dead." Meredy stated.**

**"I'm just... Sleepy..." I mumbled and rested my head on my desk, closing my eyes.**

**Only moments later, I heard Meredy say my name.**

**"Erza! Wake up!" she shouted.**

**I flinched, opening my eyes and whining, "Let me sleep..."**

**"You fell asleep within a couple seconds of laying your head down!" Meredy exclaimed.**

**"I don't care..." I groaned and sat up.**

**"How much sleep did you get last night?" Meredy asked, folding her arms.**

**"Three..." I hesitated, "Four hours..."**

**"Erza! Why didn't you get more sleep?" Meredy scolded loudly.**

**"Couldn't..." I mumbled.**

**"Then you should've told someone that you couldn't sleep! Anybody would've done everything they could to make sure that you stay home, rather than coming to work!" Meredy replied.**

**I groaned, letting my head drop onto my desk again.**

**"Erza! That's it, I'm taking you home!" Meredy decided, walking over to me.**

**Meredy pulled me up out of my chair, and let me lean on her as she half dragged me out of the building.**

**"Umm... Is Erza okay?" Mira asked.**

**"She's really tired... I'm taking her home. If anyone asks, she's sick. Unless it's Jellal or Ultear, tell them the truth, otherwise they'll freak out." Meredy explained.**

**"Will you be coming back?" Mira asked.**

**"Maybe later. Ultear got her car taken away by Jellal." Meredy answered.**

**"Again?" Mira exclaimed.**

**"Yeah... Anyways, we have to go." Meredy responded.**

**"Have a nice day! Or try to..." Mira called after us.**

**Meredy brought me to her car and carefully put me in the back seat.**

**"You can lay down while I bring you to your house." Meredy told me, then got in the drivers seat.**

**"Mhm" I mumbled, closing my eyes.**

**Moments later, Meredy was half lifting me out of her car and bringing me into my house. She led me to my bed and I laid down right away.**

**"Go to sleep. When you wake up, I'll have food for you." Meredy stated, then left my room.**

**I didn't respond. I just curled up into a ball, and fell asleep.**

**_Again, I was in a place that I had never been before. The only difference then, it looked slightly familiar. It was old and dungeon-like. I jumped at every little noise. Every once in a while, I'd cautiously look behind me, but I didn't know why. Suddenly, gun shots echoed throughout the room._**

**_Every now and then, I could hear someone's voice echoing throughout the room. After a while, I realized that it was my voice. Although, I couldn't comprehend what I was saying. _**

**_I warily looked for a place to go, trying to avoid my upcoming fate. Too late. There was a sudden pain in between my lungs, and I felt like I couldn't breathe._**

**I heard one last voice before waking up.**

**_"A ravens fire will burn up your life..."_**

**My eyes shot open and I sat up, not realizing I was on the edge of my bed. All at once, I fell off my bed, hitting my head on the nightstand.**

**"Shit!" I shouted, holding my throbbing head.**

**Meredy came into my room.**

**"Are you okay?" she gasped.**

**"Yeah... I'm fine..." I mumbled.**

**"Uhh... Your head is bleeding..." she stated, walking over to me.**

**I took my hand off my head and looked at it. Sure enough, I had blood on my hand.**

**She grabbed a rag and got it wet with warm water. She lightly dabbed it on my head, cleaning up the blood so she could she how bad the wound was.**

**"It's not too bad... Not deep or anything, just long..." she informed after a little bit.**

**She rummaged through my cabinets, then eventually pulled bandages out of one of them. She securely wrapped the bandages around my head.**

**"Alright... How about you sleep in the living room instead?" she suggested, then guided me to the living room.**

**I was just about to lay down on the couch, then suddenly stopped. Meredy looked at me questioningly. I ripped open the side of the cushions, and pulled out one of my swords, tossing it to the center of the room.**

**Then, I tossed the pillow on the floor, and it landed with a semi-loud thud. I grabbed a different pillow, then laid down. Normally, it was easy for me to sleep without taking out the sword and moving the gun, but this time, I just had to move them though.**

**"Umm... Okay then..." Meredy muttered hesitantly.**

**As soon as she left the room, I opened my eyes again. There was no way I would allow myself to go back to sleep. Although, that didn't last very long because I eventually did fall asleep again.**

****(Jellal's POV)****

**Ultear and I were on our way to Erza's house. Meredy had called us, asking us to go there, bringing real food, which made me laugh. We got there twenty minutes after she called, because I made the mistake of letting Ultear drive my car, which was already partially broken.**

**When we got to Erza's house, Meredy told us that Erza was sleeping in the living room, so we had to be quiet.**

**"Did you know that she keeps a sword in her couch?" Meredy asked.**

**"And a gun in her pillow, plus seven throwing knives in her nightstand, a sword under her table, and a sword under her counter." I added.**

**Meredy and Ultear stared at me in surprise.**

**"When did you find all of that out?" Ultear asked.**

**"Last night." I answered simply.**

**"Wow..." Meredy muttered.**

**"So, how did you find out about the sword in her couch?" I asked.**

**"She pulled it out of her couch." Meredy replied.**

**"Huh... She told me that it didn't really bother her... Plus, she sat on it last night and didn't seem bothered by it..." I responded.**

**"Go see for yourself." Meredy mumbled.**

**Ultear and I followed her into the living room.**

**"What happened to her head?" I asked.**

**"She fell out of bed and hit her head on the nightstand." Meredy answered, "It's not a serious injury though."**

**I sighed, "Well... I'm glad she's not badly hurt... I better go though. She probably won't be too happy with me being here."**

**I turned to leave, but Meredy grabbed my arm.**

**"Stay." she ordered, "Erza needs you."**

**"She doesn't need me." I shook my head.**

**"She's does, and I'm sure of it." Meredy retorted, "Plus, if anything, she ****_wants_****you."**

**"How so?" I tested.**

**"Earlier, before she fell out of bed, she was calling for you. Jellal, you need to be here for her." Meredy replied.**

**"You guys can't keep me here." I stated.**

**Meredy smirked, "Surely you wouldn't leave Erza here alone..."**

**"She won't be alone." I responded.**

**"What if Ultear and I leave before you can?" Meredy asked.**

**"Yeah... You never did ask for your keys back after we got out of the car." Ultear added.**

**Before I could react, they ran out of the house.**

**"You've gotta be kidding me..." I muttered.**

**I sighed and walked over to the center of the living room, picking up Erza's sword and propping it up against the entertainment center. Then, I picked up the pillow that she had her gun in and put it by her feet.**

**I sat down in a chair by the couch and looked at her. She looked calm, yet disturbed at the same time.**

****(Erza's POV)****

**I woke up confused. Either I was seeing things or Meredy had gotten Jellal to come here.**

**"What are you doing here?" I asked anyways, sitting up.**

**Jellal sighed, "Sorry... Meredy tricked me and Ultear into coming here... Then they left, knowing I wouldn't want to leave you here alone, and now, Ultear has my car-" **

**I interrupted him, by hugging him tightly. When I looked up at him, he looked shocked.**

**"I can't stay mad at you too long..." I mumbled, "I love you, Jellal Fernandez... I just can't stand all the secrecy... Don't you think I'm strong enough to know-"**

**Jellal cut me off, "Erza, you are strong enough... The truth is, I'm not strong enough to tell you."**

**I pulled myself up a bit and kissed him.**

**"Awww!" Meredy and Ultears voices cut in.**

**I pulled away from Jellal as he turned around to face them.**

**"When did you two get back in here?" he asked.**

**"Do you realize how distracted you get when you're around Erza?" Ultear asked.**

**"We managed to get back in the house, plus put her sword back in the middle of the room, without you noticing." Meredy informed.**

**"We plainly stood in front of you and you didn't notice." Ultear added.**

**"For once... I'm hoping that's a lie..." Jellal sighed.**

**I giggled, "Aww... But that's so cute..."**

**I rested my head on Jellal's shoulder, wrapping my arms around him so I was comfortable, and curled into a ball.**

**"Your shoulder makes a good pillow..." I mumbled.**

**Jellal laughed, "Is that so?"**

**"Yeah... You're also warm... Or at least warmer than the blankets I have around here." I nodded.**

**"Thanks?" Jellal replied, making me let out a small laugh.**

**I smiled, "Pillows can't talk..." I tilted my head and looked up at him, "But you're a good talking pillow/human."**

**"Okay...?" Jellal responded.**

**"Goodnight." I replied, closing my eyes.**

**For once, I slept without a nightmare. When I woke up, Jellal was watching TV, with me still cuddled up against him. Ultear and Meredy were sitting on the couch, looking at a piece of paper.**

**"Are you sure you've checked everywhere in the kitchen?" Meredy asked.**

**"I'm sure... Have you checked everywhere in here?" Ultear replied.**

**"Yes." Meredy answered.**

**I looked up at Jellal and quietly asked, "What are they doing?"**

**"Trying to figure out where all of your swords are, and the other gun..." Jellal answered, causing Ultear and Meredy to look in our direction.**

**"Give me that piece of paper." I instructed, holding my hand out.**

**Meredy handed me the paper and I looked over it.**

**_Sword 1 - Under table_**

**_Sword 2 - Under counter_**

**_Sword 3 - In couch_**

**_Sword 4 - Behind Lucy's dresser_**

**_Sword 5 - Giant one, leaning against bedroom wall..._**

**_Sword 6 - In mattress_**

**_Sword 7 - _**

**_Sword 8 - In closet_**

**_Sword 9 - _**

**_Sword 10 - _**

**_Gun 1 - In couch pillow_**

**_Gun 2 - _**

**_Throwing Knives - Nightstand_**

**I looked up from the paper, "You need three swords and one gun?" **

**Meredy nodded and I pointed to the top of the entertainment center and handed the paper to her. Ultear got up and looked.**

**"This one is number seven." she informed then turned to face me, "Why do they have numbers on them?"**

**"So I know which one's which." I answered, "Oh and the other gun literally replaced a door handle..."**

**"Oh... Which door handle?" Meredy asked.**

**"The one to the bathroom..." I replied, "You didn't notice this, how?**

**Meredy shrugged, "So where are swords nine and ten?"**

**"Nine is between the refrigerator and the wall. Ten is under my pillow." I responded.**

**"We checked there..." Ultear muttered.**

**I shook my head, the patted Jellal's shoulder, "This pillow is sitting on it."**

**Ultear and Meredy laughed.**

**"Really? I didn't even notice that the sword was here..." Jellal mumbled.**

**I smiled, "That's because it's under the cushion, not in it."**

**"Well, I'm thankful for that... Otherwise I would've probably learned the same way Natsu did about the one in the couch. Although I wouldn't believe that there were angry rats living in the chair..." Jellal replied.**

**I giggled, "That's because you're ten times smarter than Natsu."**

**"Wait... This sounds like an interesting story." Ultear interrupted, "What's this I hear about Natsu acting like an idiot and angry rats?"**

**"Natsu sat on my couch, getting stabbed by a sword and I told him we had angry rats in our couch. He told Lucy and neither of them sat on the couch for a while." I quickly explained.**

**"That's one way to get a couch to yourself." Meredy laughed.**

**I nodded in agreement, "It only works on gullible people though."**

**"I can tell..." Ultear mumbled, "Oh and Meredy, there's a spider on your back."**

**Meredy screamed and jumped up off the couch, "Get it off!"**

**Ultear started laughing uncontrollably, "It's crawling in your hair!"**

**"Ultear! Kill it!" Meredy screamed.**

**"No, this is funny..." Ultear responded.**

**Meredy suddenly stopped, with an evil gleam in her eyes.**

**"Oh my gosh! Look! There's a clown!" Meredy exclaimed, pointing somewhere behind Ultear.**

**Ultear screamed and literally rolled off the couch, leaving Meredy laughing.**

**"Be prepared to have spiders in your bed tonight..." Ultear muttered.**

**"Then I'll fill your room with clowns." Meredy retorted.**

**"You'll be too busy screaming." Ultear responded.**

**Meredy looked at me, "If Ultear puts spiders in my room, you're in charge of putting clowns in her room."**

**"One problem... I don't even know where she lives." I pointed out.**

**"Fine, you and Jellal." Meredy nodded.**

**"****_I _****don't even know where she lives..." Jellal muttered.**

**"Well... If you want your car back, you'll have to find out." Meredy replied.**

**Jellal looked at Ultear, who was still crouched down on the floor, "You couldn't have brought it back?"**

**"You don't get your car until I get mine." Ultear retorted.**

**"Well now Erza doesn't have a ride to work." Jellal pointed out.**

**"Meredy can give her a ride." Ultear decided.**

**"How am I supposed to get to work?" Jellal asked.**

**"You can walk." Ultear answered simply.**

**"Really?" Jellal replied.**

**I laughed, "Do you think Meredy is so mean as to make you walk?" **

**"Yes. She's Ultear's friend, what else would you expect?" Jellal responded.**

**Suddenly, there was a knock on my front door, causing me to jump. **

**"Ultear, go answer the door..." I whined.**

**"Why can't you?" Ultear retorted.**

**"I don't like answering my door." I mumbled.**

**"Right..." Ultear stood up and went to the front door.**

**"Hi." the person at the door greeted.**

**"Who are you?" Ultear asked.**

**"I'm Flare Corona." the person answered.**

**Meredy gave Jellal a confused look, "Isn't Flare dead?"**

**Jellal nodded, "Ultear knows that though."**

**"I'm a friend of Erza's." 'Flare' added.**

**"Oh really?" Ultear tested.**

**"Yes. Who are you?" 'Flare' retorted.**

**"I'm Erza's friend, Ultear." Ultear replied.**

**"I haven't heard anything about you." 'Flare' responded.**

**"Really? Not a single thing? I'm the person that tricks my best friend that she has spiders on her back. I'm the one that hates clowns... One of the ones that works at FTBI and knows that Flare Corona is dead..." Ultear retorted.**

**"Y-you're part of FTBI?" 'Flare' stuttered, "I'm s-sorry... I w-wasn't informed about th-that."**

**"Well, maybe you should come with me to the agency and have a look around..." Ultear muttered, then called to us, "I'll be back in a couple of hours! Maybe three or four..."**

**Then my front door shut.**

**"I'm going to guess that she still has explaining to do for leaving work..." I muttered.**

**"Yeah... I at least gave a reason... She just left." Jellal sighed.**

**I laughed, "That's Ultear for you."**

**"Yeah, she's really something." Meredy agreed.**

**"So... Where is Ultears house? I do want my car back..." Jellal muttered.**

**Meredy smiled, "Aww... So you can drive Erza around?"**

**"Well... Yes." Jellal answered.**

**"Okay. She lives on 728 Acrylic Lane." Meredy replied.**

**"That was easy..." Jellal muttered.**

**I laughed, "There might be a catch though..."**

**"Ultear is storing it in her garage. Good luck, getting your car anytime soon." Meredy smiled.**

**Jellal rolled his eyes, "Ultear can have her car back..."**

**"Okay, your car is in front of Erza's house right now." Meredy replied.**

**"Well, Ultear's is still at the agency... You two didn't look very hard for it." Jellal muttered.**

**"Oh... In my defense, I wasn't actually looking for her car." Meredy responded.**

**Jellal's phone rang, and he answered it, putting it on speaker.**

**"Juvia, please tell me that you aren't calling about Gajeel..." Jellal sighed.**

**"Well... Juvia can't do that. Gajeel needs help with his computer." the woman, Juvia, replied.**

**"Have Levy help him." Jellal retorted.**

**"He says that Levy is too short to know what she's doing." Juvia responded.**

**"Okay, ask him if he charged his computer." Jellal muttered.**

**"Yeah, it's charging right now!" Gajeel shouted.**

**"Is it the right cord that's plugged in?" Jellal asked.**

**"I'm not sure..." Gajeel grumbled.**

**"Well, then ask Levy." Jellal replied.**

**"No, she's too short." Gajeel retorted.**

**"I'm standing ****_right here_****!" Levy exclaimed.**

**"Sorry Gajeel, can't help you much longer... My phone's dying." Jellal lied, and hung up the phone call. He turned off his phone, then set it to the side, "He's going to call one of you two now, knowing you're near me."**

**My phone suddenly rang, and I answered it, putting it on speaker.**

**"Erza, tell your boyfriend not to hang up on me!" Gajeel exclaimed.**

**I looked at Jellal, "You can hang up on Gajeel anytime you want."**

**"That's not what I said..." Gajeel muttered.**

**"Can I hang up on you, then turn off my phone?" I asked.**

**"No..." Gajeel grumbled.**

**"Too late, bye!" I retorted, then hung up and turned off my phone.**

**I cuddled up against Jellal, resting my head on his chest. Meredy's phone rang, and she looked at the caller I.D.**

**"Oh good, it isn't Gajeel. It's Ultear..." she muttered then answered the phone, "Hello!"**

**Meredy nodded, mumbling 'm-hm', then hung up.**

**"Uh... Ultear wants at least two of us to go to the agency." Meredy informed.**

**I groaned, "I don't want to get up..."**

**"Erza, we can't leave you here alone." Jellal objected.**

**"You two can go, I'll be fine on my own. It won't take you long to see what Ultear wants, let alone get to the agency. You can always send Mira here if you're worried." I argued.**

**"Erza-" Jellal started.**

**"I'll be fine." I insisted.**

**Jellal gave me a wary look.**

**"Don't worry, I won't do anything stupid." I assured him.**

**"That's not what I'm worried about." Jellal responded.**

**"I know." I whispered, reaching up and letting my hand rest on his face, "I'll be safe. If I think I might be in danger, even for a second, I'll call you."**

**"Promise?" he questioned.**

**"I promise." I replied, pulling myself up a bit to kiss him.**

**After he and Meredy left, I curled up on that same chair and watched TV. Somewhere along the line, I drifted back to sleep.**

********Yeah, I know that Erza and Jellal's fight didn't last long, but it was too hard to write without ending it quickly. Sorry. Anyways, the next chapter is where things get interesting! XD Please leave a review and let me know what you thought of this chapter! Thank you!****


	17. Chapter 16

**Hey there everyone! Sorry I didn't post last Friday and this is a few days late for this week... I've been very busy lately. Oh, and I won't be posting a second chapter to make up for last week. This part of the story doesn't work out with two chapters in row. It does, but it doesn't at the same time, if that makes any sense at all... XD Anyways, enjoy the chapter! **

I woke up due to a loud noise from somewhere in the house. My eyes shot open, and my head shot up. Then I shrugged, assuming it was just the TV. I laid my head back down, and closed my eyes. Only seconds later, my eyes shot open again. It couldn't have been the TV, my TV was off. The problem was, I didn't turn it off.

I slowly stood up, and reached for my gun. Taking small and quiet steps, I walked towards my kitchen. When I stepped into the kitchen, nobody was there, so I turned around to check another spot in the house.

Suddenly, I got hit in the head by someone swinging something at me. I fell to the ground, dropping my gun, and letting out a pained scream. He was just about to hit me again, when I kicked his knee as hard as I could. As my foot made contact with his knee, there was a loud cracking sound, making me grimace.

As quick as I could, I scrambled to my feet, only to be knocked down again by someone else. I put my arm out in front of my face as he swung a metal bar at me. Screaming in pain as it made contact with my arm, I quickly stretched for my gun, then aimed it at his shoulder, and shot. Later, I found out that I hadn't hit his shoulder, I had went a little too far inwards.

"Bitch!" he grumbled loudly.

Once again, I got to my feet, and looked around me for other attackers. I was too late to notice the one somewhere behind me, and got shoved against the counter. He grabbed my right arm, and slammed it against countertop as hard as he could, causing me to release my gun. It slid off the counter, and onto the ground.

Next thing I knew, my head was slammed against the counter, and I blacked out.

**(Ultear's POV)**

Shortly after Jellal and Meredy showed up at the agency, to help me with the interrogation, Jellal got called down to Makarov's office. Jellal was really worried about Erza though, so I told him that I'd go check on her and that I'd call him to tell him how she was doing. Reluctantly, Jellal told me where my car was, then headed down to Makarov's office.

Currently, I was driving in my car, on my way to Erza's. Surely she was fine. She had ten swords and two guns hidden around her house. There's no way she'd be harmed.

When I knocked on Erza's front door, there was no answer, which worried me a bit. Maybe she was sleeping. I tried twisting the doorknob and was quite surprised to find it unlocked. Surely Jellal didn't allow her to leave the door unlocked?

As I stepped into the kitchen, I realized that Jellal had every reason to be worried. There was one man laying on the ground, barely conscious, and another with a busted knee.

I glared at the more conscious one, "Where's Erza?"

He smirked, "You won't be able to find her."

Shit... I still had to call Jellal.

I dialed his number, hoping he wouldn't answer his phone. Sadly, he did.

"Is Erza okay?" he asked at once.

"Um... I can't say for sure... She's not here, but there are two men. I must say, Erza put up quite a fight." I mumbled.

"What?" Jellal exclaimed, "I'm coming over there!"

"Okay... Uh... It might be best if we got an ambulance over here too... One of them is dying..." I stated.

He didn't answer, he just hung up the phone call and made his way over.

"Dammit! I shouldn't have left her alone!" Jellal cursed.

"It's not your fault." I replied, "Plus, Erza wouldn't want you blaming yourself."

"True..." he grumbled.

"Judging by the blood on the counter, even though blood from a knee wound, or from a gunshot wound from roughly four yards away wouldn't make it to the counter, I'm positive that Erza got injured in the process." I explained, pausing when Jellal grimaced.

I walked over to the other side of the counter where I saw her gun, "She must've gotten caught off guard, allowing them to disarm her. If she weren't caught off guard, she wouldn't have been disarmed easily, judging by the fact that when we were dealing with those drug dealers and she got stabbed in the hand, but didn't drop her gun."

We studied the scene for a few hours, ignoring the paramedics when an ambulance showed up.

**This chapter was shorter than my other chapters, and I apologize for that. Anyways, please leave a review to let me know what you think! :))**


	18. Chapter 17

**Hey everyone! I'd like to apologize for this chapter being a few days late! Internet can be a big problem when I'm at my mom's house... **

**I'd also like to thank you all for your wonderful reviews! **

**Well, here's the chapter you've been waiting for!**

I opened my eyes and warily looked around. This place was almost dungeon-like. It was dark, cold and very old. I tried to stretch my arms, but found that I couldn't move them away from each other.

What happened? Where am I?

I tried to move my legs, but they were stuck to something. This made me realize that I was in a chair. My hands were tied behind my back and to the chair, while my ankles were tied to the legs of the chair. I went back through my memory, trying to remember how I had gotten here.

Where is 'here' anyways?

I was tempted to call out and see if anyone was there, but something told me not to. I used all the strength I could to try and pull my hands out of the ropes. I kept trying until I heard someone.

"Well, look who's up..." a familiar voice cooed.

I glared in the direction of the voice, "Where the hell am I?"

There was a light laugh, "Erza, sweety, surely you remember the very place that you're afraid of..."

This was that hotel?! No way! No! No! No!

I struggled to get out of the chair, but that led to a knife being thrown at my shoulder. I bit my lip to keep from screaming in pain.

"How did you even get out of prison? Did my father help you?" I asked through gritted teeth.

"You're quite observant." he commented.

"Cobra! I asked you a question! Answer it!" I shouted.

"Calm down, sweetheart... Your father will be here shortly." Cobra replied calmly.

"I'm supposed to be calm about that?" I retorted, grimacing as I twisted my shoulder, causing my wound to stretch.

"That looked painful." Cobra mocked.

"No shit!" I shouted.

"Erza, shut your mouth." my father's voice butted in.

I opened my mouth to respond, but couldn't find my voice.

"Cat got your tongue?" my father mocked.

"Why did you bring me here?" I asked, after catching my breath.

"To make it harder for your friends to find you." Cobra laughed, stepping out of the shadows with my father.

My father smirked, eyeing up the knife in my shoulder, "Seems like Cobra had to get a little aggressive."

"So? It doesn't hurt." I retorted.

"Oh really? I guess I'll have to change that..." my father replied coolly.

He walked over to me and gripped the knife, then yanked it out of my arm, causing me to scream. Blood welled up on my shoulder and I bit my lip.

**(Jellal's POV)  
**  
This was awful. Meredy, Ultear, and I were driving around the city, trying to figure out where Erza was. There was also that possible chance that she was in a different city. I had a feeling that we didn't have much time. The worst part about this... Cobra had called me and told me to leave it on speaker phone if we wanted any possible chance at finding Erza. We had Levy at the agency, trying to track his phone. We could hear some of what was being said, they were speaking loudly. I started listening again.

"Erza, sweety, surely you remember the very place that you're afraid of..." Cobra cooed.

I could hear the sound of a chair scraping against a concrete floor.

"How did you even get out of prison? Did my father help you?" Erza asked roughly.

"...quite observant." Cobra commented.

"Cobra! I asked you a question! Answer it!" Erza shouted.

"Calm down, sweetheart... Your father will be here shortly." Cobra replied calmly.

I couldn't hear Erza's response, but I did hear her gasp.

"That looked painful." Cobra mocked.

"No shit!" Erza shouted.

"Erza, shut your mouth." Erza's father's voice butted in.

She didn't respond.

"Cat got your tongue?" her father mocked.

"Why did you bring me here?" Erza asked, after a moment.

Erza... Where is 'here'?

"To make it harder for your friends to find you." Cobra laughed.

"Seems like Cobra had to get a little aggressive." Erza's father muttered loudly.

"So? It doesn't hurt." Erza retorted.

Don't say anything stupid...

"Oh really? I guess I'll have to change that..." her father replied coolly.

Too late.

The next thing I heard was Erza screaming in pain. I grimaced and turned my phone off speaker.

"Jellal... We need that." Ultear reminded me.

I sighed, "I know... I just don't want to sit here and listen while she's in pain."

Ultear grabbed the phone, "I'll listen to it off-speaker for now..."

**(Erza's POV)  
**  
My father slowly sliced a cut down my arm, causing me to bite down on my lip even harder. He sliced another mark into my arm.

"Is that all you've got?" I smirked, even though it hurt like hell.

"Erza, quit acting strong. It's only going to make you suffer more..." my father chanted.

"I'm not a-" I started but got cut off when he stabbed my thigh, "Fuck!" I shouted.

I bit down on my lip so hard that I tasted blood. My father yanked the knife out of my thigh.

"I don't want to have all the fun now..." he muttered, "I'll be back later..."

He dropped the knife a yard away from me and walked away. I soon heard a door slam shut. I began to shake and backed my chair up.

"There's no need to try and escape..." Cobra muttered, "Yet..." he laughed and also left the room.

I groaned and began trying to free my hands again.

"Dammit!" I cursed after ten minutes.

I suddenly heard my name get called, it sounded quiet, though the person who said my name, shouted it.

"Ultear?" I tilted my head in confusion.

"The idiots are making us listen! They... Any chance on... You!" her voice kept getting cut out, "Do you know where you are?"

"Yeah... I'm at Raven's Hotel, on the outskirts of Clover. It's two hours away from Magnolia." I quickly replied.

"Thanks! We'll be there as soon as possible! We have to go, the phone's going to d-" she was cut off.

I groaned again. I hated this place. Especially when it was quiet like this.

Please get here soon... I'm scared...

I looked at my sliced open arm, the blood was still dripping out of the wounds. My thigh wasn't any better. It had a ton of blood dripping out of it, and it hurt really badly.

I froze when I heard someone else, "So.. You told them our location... I guess they became smart enough to shout into their phone."

"It's been awhile since I've heard your voice, Rusty Rose..." I muttered through gritted teeth.

He laughed, "Yes... It has been quite a while. You were... Fourteen? When I killed Flare..."

"Yes, fourteen." I replied.

"You were quite funny at the hospital..." he changed the topic, "So were your friends... All mopey and blaming themselves. Those tears in Meredy's eyes were the best..."

"Shut up!" I shouted.

"Oh.. Right... That's a... Sensitive, topic for you." he taunted.

"Shut up, you know nothing about me." I grumbled.

"Oh really? I know that you drove your own mother away, your father hated you and beat you, you are weak, fearful, and worthless..." he paused, "Shall I go on?"

"You'll go on anyways." I replied.

"No I won't, only if you want me to." he responded.

I rolled my eyes and looked down at my legs.

I whispered to myself, words I hadn't said in a long time, "This is what I deserve..."

"Yeah... That's the spirit!" he mocked.

I gave up on trying to free myself. It was no use.

After an hour, someone came back into the room. My father.

"I hope you don't mind me coming back early... I was getting bored." he muttered.

"Oh, well it's a good thing you're here. Her friends know where we are." Rusty Rose replied.

"Perfect... I guess we have some time to spare." my father cooed, "Rusty Rose, is it ready?"

"It just has a minute to go." he replied.

"Okay, good." my father responded, then turned to me, "I bet you're going to ask what we're planning."

"I was going to, but I'm assuming you're going to tell me because I can't escape either way." I retorted.

My father smirked, "Well... As soon as your friends get here, this whole building is going to be lit with flames. It should be interesting to see your friends looking for you, while trying not to get burned to death."

"Why them?" I asked roughly.

"Have you forgotten that two of them are the ones that arrested me?" he answered.

"Why Meredy?" I asked.

"She's friends with Ultear and you. It's a bonus." he laughed.

"Leave my friends out of this!" I shouted.

"Too late for that..." he muttered, picking up his knife.

Shit...

He slowly sliced a long cut on the side of my face. Then, he lifted the hem of my shirt and made three scratches along my stomach.

"Remember, Erza, you deserve this." he informed.

"I know..." I muttered, pain sounding in my voice.

"Okay... It's ready." Rusty Rose called to my father.

He came over with a metal pole that had a strange shape at the end of it(The Raven Tail Guild Mark is the shape at the end).

"Perfect... Right on schedule." my father muttered.

"Whats that for?" I asked shakily.

"Well.. What's the use of kidnapping someone, then killing them, if you don't brand them?" Rusty Rose answered.

My eyes widened in horror, "You're going to what? Brand me?"

"Yup. Plus, then if you somehow make it out alive, you'll have that mark, for memories." Rusty Rose nodded.

"I'm sure that I have enough memories..." I muttered, looking at my blood-covered scars.

"Well, you could use another one." my father retorted.

"Wouldn't that other one be me nearly getting burned to death?" I asked.

"Shut up..." he grumbled.

I opened my mouth to respond, but decided better of it.

My father smirked, "Rusty Rose... Would you like to do the honors?"

"If course..." he replied, "Now... Where should we have the mark? Somewhere plainly visible?"

"Yes." my father answered.

"How about... By the collar bone?" Rusty Rose suggested.

"That works." my father replied.

Rusty Rose smiled and pressed the shape against my skin, just below my collarbone, on the right side. I screamed in pain as he pressed the hot metal even harder against me. I cut my scream off by biting down on my lip as hard as I could. I tasted blood again and felt a sharp pain in my lip as well as my collar bone. Eventually, Rusty Rose pulled the metal pole away from me, revealing a dark, burnt scar on my flesh.

My skin felt like it was on fire. Instinct told me to move my hand up to the spot that burned, but I couldn't move my hands. My father's phone rang and he answered it, then looked over to Rusty Rose.

"Minerva says they're here. You can start the fire down here, I'll help Minerva upstairs." my father informed him, then hung up the phone and left.

They're here already? Did they speed?

"You don't really want to do this... Right? I mean... Setting the building on fire is putting you life in danger too." I pointed out.

"So what?" Rusty Rose retorted.

"Don't you want to live?" I asked shakily.

"Shut up." he snapped, "I'm going to have Cobra start the fire down here. I'm leaving."

Dammit! Why send Cobra down here?

A few moments after Rusty Rose left, Cobra came into my vision.

"Hello Erza..." he greeted, "Well I guess this is also a goodbye..."

I shivered in fear.

Get the hell away from me...

Cobra walked over to me.

"I really will miss you... We had great times together..." Cobra cooed, then kissed my cheek.

I shivered again and he began to leave the room. Just before leaving the room, he poured gasoline close to the only exit. He then lit a match and set it on the ground.

"Dammit..." I grumbled, trying to pull my hands free from the rope.

Soon, the fire was all around me. I tipped my chair over and lucky enough, my hands landed in the flames. No matter how painful it was, I forced myself not to try to move my hands out of the flames. I had to burn off the ropes, or it would be certain that I'd burn to death. Eventually, when I tried tugging my hands away from each other, the rope broke. My hands were badly burned, but that didn't matter now. I quickly untied my ankles, then stood up and looked around.

I couldn't remember which direction the door was, and I most certainly couldn't see where it was.

"Shit!" I cursed.

I began jogging forward, and I could eventually just barely see the door through the smoke. I ran faster, but quickly stopped when part of the ceiling crashed down. I jumped back as some more small bits fell. My legs and arms hurt badly, but my hands hurt even worse. I searched for another exit, but couldn't find one. If I could get past the part of the ceiling that fell, I would be able to possibly escape through the elevator shoot. From what I could see, there were no windows. Damn.

The smoke in the air started filling my lungs, causing me to break into coughing fits.

**(Ultear's POV, starting just as the fires were being started.)  
**  
I had taken over driving when we found out where Erza was, mostly because Jellal probably wasn't willing to completely speed just to get there sooner. I was. Jellal had chosen to sit in the back with Meredy because he didn't trust my driving. He'll thank me later. I'm helping save his girlfriend.

We ran into the building, our guns drawn. We searched the first three floors, but couldn't find her. When we got to the fourth floor, we saw Minerva, the woman Jellal had shot. She had quickly turned around a corner when she saw us, so I followed her while Jellal and Meredy went down a different hall. I turned the corner just as Minerva started a fire. I took a step back and called to Jellal and Meredy.

"It seems like they're starting the building on fire! We need to find Erza, fast!"

"Yeah... We know!" Meredy called back to me.

"Meredy, you get out of here! We'll be fine on our own!" I ordered loudly.

"No way! I'm going to help save Erza!" Meredy refused.

I rolled my eyes, still facing Minerva, "Where's Erza?" I asked roughly.

"I can give you a hint..." Minerva sighed, "You passed her. She's as good as dead now."

Minerva smiled mischievously.

"Where is she?" I asked, emphasizing 'where'.

"I really must be going... How awful would it be if the rest of the building collapsed on me, while I was being burned to death?" she replied, then exited through the window.

"Shit!" I shouted.

I wanted to follow Minerva, but I had to find Erza before anything else.

Some sparks hit my hand, making me flinch.

"Ow!" I exclaimed.

I suddenly heard a cracking sound, and it wasn't the fire.

"Umm... Guys?" I called over to Jellal and Meredy, who were now making their way over to me, "Don't come any closer... I think the floor's about to break."

Jellal stopped and put his arm out in front of Meredy, who wasn't listening, she was muttering to herself. Meredy ran into his arm and yelped in surprise.

There was another cracking sound underneath me. Meredy stared at me with wide eyes. The floor suddenly gave way underneath and around me, sending me and the rest of the pieces crashing down onto the burning third floor. I heard a loud snapping sound as a searing pain shot through my arm. I screamed in pain, I screamed even more as burning pieces of rubble fell down onto me.

Shit... I have to get out of here, or I'll die...

"Ultear!" Meredy called down to me.

"I'm alright!" I called back up, pain echoing in my voice, "You two keep looking for Erza, I need to get out of here! I might have a broken arm. If I find Erza on the way, I'll get her out and come back in for you two!"

"Ulte-" Jellal started to object.

"I'll be fine! You two keep looking for her!" I snapped.

"Alright... Be safe Ultear!" Meredy replied.

"Same to you!"

I forced myself up onto my feet, it was painful, but it would be even more painful to be crushed by burning pieces.

"Jellal! Meredy!" I called back up, coughing afterwards.

"What?" Meredy called down, also ending in a cough.

"Minerva told..." I coughed, "Told me that we passed Erza..." I coughed again.

"Okay, we'll start heading down!" Jellal replied, his voice sounding muffled, he was probably using something to cover his mouth.

I nodded, though they couldn't see my nod. I began to force myself down the hallway, in search of a window.

**(Erza's POV)  
**  
I coughed as I inhaled even more smoke. The hot air burned against my wounds, not to mention that I was now covered in burn marks. I heard a loud crashing sound from somewhere above me.

Shit... That can't be good...

**(Jellal's POV)**

After being separated from Ultear, Meredy and I started looking for a set of stairs. The only ones that weren't lit up with flames were the ones outside, on the fire escape. We eventually ended up out there, walking down the stairs.

"We don't need to check the third floor, Ultear will probably check that on her way out..." Meredy stated with a raspy voice.

I nodded in agreement. We went down to the second floor and began searching. Meredy was trailing behind me, so I had to stop a couple of times, to let her catch up. After the second time and I noticed she managed to trail behind me again, I called back to her.

"Hurry up, or we might get separated!"

"Right... Sorry." she responded, then quickened her pace a tiny bit.

Sadly, it wasn't quick enough. I heard a loud cracking sound from above us.

"Meredy, back up!" I ordered.

She quickly took large steps backwards, letting out a yelp as she burned her leg. Soon enough, a hall from above us crashed down, blocking Meredy from getting to me.

"Shit.." I muttered, then called to her, "Meredy, are you okay?"

There wasn't a response for a while, which scared me, so I asked again.

"Meredy, are you okay?"

"Yeah! My leg hurts, but not too badly! Let's finish searching this floor and we can meet up on the next floor!" she answered.

I hesitated, "Okay! Be careful Meredy! Stay alert!"

"Same goes to you!" she responded.

I began walking in the opposite direction of her. First I had to leave Ultear, and now Meredy. It took everything I had, to leave them behind. If we stayed in one place, we'd be sure to die. I knew that.

**(Meredy's POV)  
**  
Alright... I need to focus. Jellal and Ultear aren't here to keep track of me.

I pulled the collar of my shirt, over my mouth. It should keep my lungs safer at least. I coughed and began limping in the opposite direction of Jellal. I had lied to Jellal, I had actually hurt my leg pretty badly, but I had to keep going. The reason why I didn't answer him right away when he asked if I was okay is because I didn't want him to hear the pain in my voice.

'It's too late to go back now...' I reminded myself.

**Cliffhanger! **

**I know... I know... I'm an evil author. I mean... What kind of author has their characters get burned? Me. That's what kind. **

**Anyways...**

**How'd you like the chapter? Was it good? Bad? Needs improvement? Leave a review and let me know what you think!**


	19. Chapter 18

**Hey everyone! Here's yet another chapter for you! This chapter skips around quite a bit with the point of views, so please bear with me! I hope you enjoy it!**

**(Erza's POV)  
**  
The fire was so bad now, it was to the point that anywhere I walked, I'd get burned. Every minute I was there, it became harder to breathe and my coughing worsened. Now, the most I could see were flames and smoke, still unable to see another exit. I limped around the edge of the room, still trying to find an exit. I was right, there weren't any windows. I was almost certain that the only exit was the elevator.

I coughed, "Dammit..." my voice was weak.

I was coughing so much, my stomach hurt. I suddenly heard another set of coughs. Who else was here?

**(Ultear's POV)  
**  
By the time I got out of the building, the fire department was there. I nearly fell off the fire escape route from my coughing. When they noticed me, one of the firefighters ran over to me, along with a paramedic.

"We need to get her to the hospital..." the paramedic muttered to himself after checking me for severe wounds.

I shook my head and took a step back, toward the building, "There's still three people in there..." my voice was weak, "I'm not leaving without them."

Suddenly, I couldn't find the strength to stay standing and I collapsed. The firefighter picked me up and brought me over to an ambulance, laying me on a stretcher and the paramedic placed an oxygen mask over my mouth. Despite my protests, they drove me to the hospital.

**(Meredy's POV)  
**  
I hoped that Ultear had made it out alright. Meanwhile, I was having a hard time walking. Every now and then, I'd fall, which burned me more and more each time. I refused to give in to my protesting leg. I still hadn't gotten off of the second floor. I couldn't find the fire escape.

Another problem was that the third, fourth, and fifth floors would fall in front of me or behind me. I somehow managed to squeeze past them, but just barely. With every step I took, it became harder to walk and even harder to breathe.

I coughed and fell to the ground, burning my face and body as they hit the floor. I carefully, but quickly pushed myself up. I wasn't going to give up now. I couldn't. I had to push myself further.

**(Jellal's POV)  
**  
I could hear her coughs. I knew she was near, she had to be. I was going to call out to her, but I couldn't, my voice was far too weak now. She had to have heard my coughing. When her coughing sounded distant, I'd start walking in another direction. I suddenly heard a thud and a long spurt of coughing. I grimaced as I burned my hand, again. My jeans were burned badly, so were my legs. My whole body was burned badly, but I didn't care, as long as I found Erza, alive.

Her coughing gradually became louder, and I walked faster in that direction. I could see her silhouette through the flames. She was kneeling on the ground, hunched over and coughing. It was obvious that she was also being burned, and that she was giving up.

**(Erza's POV)  
**  
I gave up. There was no way out. If there was, I would've found it already. My only way got blocked. I guess this was my end, and I'd be burned to death. I was convinced that I was hearing things too, I kept on hearing someone else's coughs, along with mine.

I suddenly heard my name being called. His voice was weak, but I knew whose it was. Jellal. I looked up, and began looking around. I couldn't see him or anything. My vision was foggy, and not from the smoke in the air. I soon felt his hand on my left arm. I used my right hand, placing it on his hand, then trailing it up his arm, to find out where he was.

He was crouched down just beside me.

"Erza.. We need to get..." he coughed, "To get out of here..."

I nodded in response and he helped me up. He put his arm around me, to help hold me up. Then he carefully, but quickly led me out of the building. I don't remember how we got out, but we did.

There were suddenly four paramedics by us, and I found myself unable to stand. My legs buckled underneath me, and Jellal quickly caught me before I fell. I heard a couple of people talking.

"There's still one in there, I think..." one stated.

"Yeah, that other woman said that there was still three, but now two came out.." the other agreed.

Jellal's attention snapped to them as two paramedics guided me away from him and to an ambulance.

"What did the other person that got out look like?" Jellal asked, his voice only a little stronger than before.

The two people looked at him, but only one answered, "She had black hair-"

"Shit! Meredy's still in there!" Jellal exclaimed, cutting them off.

I twisted around to face him, my stomach wounds crying in protest as I did. Jellal was looking at the building, hoping for Meredy to come out at any second. She didn't.

**(Meredy's POV)  
**  
I was nearly trapped. I couldn't see anything but flame and smoke, and I could barely breathe. I hadn't stopped coughing for a while now, but I knew that if Jellal hadn't found Erza yet, she'd be dead soon or she already was. Suddenly I heard my name being called.

"Meredy!" then there was a cough.

Did that idiot seriously come back in here to save me? Where was he anyways? Am I just imagining it?

Another cough then, "Meredy!"

"Je-" I coughed, "Je...lal?"

I coughed again, and again. There was loud crack and the ground gave way beneath me. I let out a scream, but managed to grab onto the edge, instead of falling. My coughing wasn't helping me hold on though. I was just about to let go and give up, when I felt a hand around my wrist. I couldn't see who it was, but I assumed it was Jellal. He pulled me up, then carried me out of the burning building, coughing just as much as I was.

**(Erza's POV)  
**  
I didn't move since Jellal went back in the building. The paramedics tried tugging me towards the ambulance, but didn't want to hurt me. I stared at the building that Jellal disappeared into. I had tried to protest against him going back, but he ignored it. He said something about, if he didn't help Meredy, he'd never forgive himself because he's the one that left her.

Suddenly, Jellal was going down the fire escape, which surprisingly hadn't burned down yet, holding Meredy. Meredy was unconscious. When Jellal came over to me and the paramedics, there were three stretchers by us, he laid Meredy down on one of them. It was still hard for me to breathe, I had been coughing badly. I watched as a paramedic placed an oxygen mask over Meredy's mouth.

Jellal helped one of the paramedics direct me to one of the other stretchers. I slowly sat down and Jellal lightly pushed me back, so I was laying down. He then, laid down on the other stretcher. The paramedics placed an oxygen mask over my mouth and one over Jellal's. Next thing I knew, I was at the hospital, yelling at the doctors.

**They were saved from the fire! Yay! **

**Kayleigh1789, one of the next couple chapters will have some Natsu/Erza friendship fluff just for you!**

**Please leave a review and let me know what you think!**


	20. Chapter 19

**Hello everyone! I'm actually able to post a chapter on a Friday for the first time in a long time! :D It was either today or Monday, and I obviously chose today. Anyway, enjoy the chapter!**

I suddenly remembered about how Rusty Rose had branded me, and I wanted it off. The only way I could think of to get it off, is to create an even bigger scar over it. I looked around for something sharp while the doctors weren't looking. When I saw something sharp, I quickly reached for it. Sadly, one of the doctors noticed and quickly grabbed my arm. I tried to struggle out of his grip.

"Let go of me!" I shouted, still trying to tug my arm away.

One of the other doctors grabbed the sharp object that I had been reaching for, while the one that was holding my arm, slowly released me. Since they wouldn't let me use another object, I used my charred hands. I dug my nails into my skin and I began clawing at the skin just below my collar bone. The doctors quickly grabbed my hands and pulled them to my sides, holding them down. I struggled against them.

"Let go of me! I hate you!" I screamed, "I want it off!"

I did not want to stay branded by my father and those other assholes. I tried to pull my hands away from them, but my arms didn't budge.

"You won't be able to heal of you keep doing that." one of the doctors stated.

"I don't want to heal!" I yelled, "I just want that damn thing gone!"

Meanwhile, I could hear Ultear, who was on the other end of the hall.

"Shut up! I need to make sure they're okay! I don't believe what you say!" Ultear shouted.

**(Jellal's POV)  
**  
I was laying in my hospital bed, listening to Ultear and Erza yelling at the doctors. A doctor suddenly came into my room.

"How's Erza, Ultear, and Meredy?" I asked right away.

"Well... Ultear is calming down..." the doctor started.

"Get the fuck away from me!" Erza's shout interrupted.

Suddenly, one of the doctors were shouting in surprise, "Ow! She kicked me!"

The doctor in my room finished his sentence, "You can hear how Erza's doing... And... Meredy is unconscious..."

"Oh... Is there any chance I could go to Erza and calm her down?" I asked.

The doctor hesitated.

"Please? You guys aren't going to get anywhere if she doesn't get calmed down." I pleaded.

**(Erza's POV)  
**  
After kicking the doctor, I threw myself off the hospital bed and onto the ground. I kneeled on the ground, and looked at my bloodied and burned legs. When I heard the door open, I didn't look up. Soon, I felt arms around me. I looked over and noticed that Jellal was hugging me.

"Erza... Please listen to the doctors..." he pleaded with a raspy voice.

I opened my mouth to respond, but I couldn't find my voice. Instead, I covered the scar that was just below my collar bone. I didn't want him to see it. The stupid thing gave them a claim to me, which made me hate it even more. Jellal carefully grabbed my hand and started to stand up. I soon found myself standing up with him.

"Erza, will you listen to the doctors when I leave?" Jellal asked.

Staring at him blankly, I nodded.

"I'm serious, Erza... You need to listen to them." Jellal stated sternly.

"I will." my voice cracked with pain and sadness.

Jellal pulled me into a hug and murmured, "You'll be alright..."

He guided me back to my hospital bed, and didn't leave until I was laying down. I was surprised he could still walk. He _had_ went in the fire twice, once for me, and once for Meredy. Somewhere along the lines, I had put my hand back over the spot of which I was branded.

I got hooked up to quite a few different machines, but I only knew what a couple of them did. One kept track of my heartbeat, and another was fluids, hydrating my skin. The rest, I had no clue what they did.

Then, the doctors had to put medicine on my burns, and give me pain medicine. There was also the medicine for my cuts, they used the most on the cut on my face, and gave me stitches on my face.

Was the cut really _that_ deep?

"Did we get all of the wounds?" one of the doctors asked another.

"I think so..." she replied, hesitantly looking at me.

I moved my hand of the brand mark that had been burned into me, and her eyes widened.

"Nope... We missed one." she corrected herself.

They put medicine on my wound, then left the room for a moment. Hours went by, doctors coming in every hour to give me some medicine. Other than that, I was alone in there. The only people that would think of visiting me, were in the hospital as well, so that was out of the picture.

A doctor came in, only ten minutes after I had taken my hourly medicine. He didn't say what he was doing, he was just doing something.

"What's that?" I asked when he picked up a medicine bottle.

"Your hourly medicine." he answered.

"Someone else already gave it to me." I replied.

"That's not what I was told. Don't worry, it'll be quick, and just like getting a flu shot." he responded.

Just as he was about to press the needle into me, I read the bottle on the medication.

"Wait, that has meperidine in it! I'm allergic to that!" I pulled away from him.

He picked up a binder that had information about me in it.

"It doesn't say that you're allergic to it." he shook his head, then began to proceed again.

I quickly unhooked a few of the machines from me, and hit the medicine out of his hand. He bent down to get it, and I noticed he had a gun. After nonchalantly taking his gun, I quickly unhooked the rest of the machines, and stood up, hiding the gun behind my back.

"Erza, you need your medicine." he 'scolded'.

I pulled the gun out from behind my back, and pointed it at him. A look of surprise grew on his face as he realized that it was his.

"I make a great pickpocket, don't you think?" I smirked, "I _am_ allergic to meperidine, and you were trying to kill me. What, if giving me a severe allergic reaction wouldn't work, were you going to shoot me and run?"

He pulled a knife out of his pocket. Just as he was about to throw it at me, I shot him. I shakily dropped the gun, and covered my mouth as doctors came rushing into the room. Tears flooded my eyes.

I shot someone. No. I _killed_ someone by shooting him.

When I looked over, Jellal and Ultear were in the room. Ultear was over by the doctors, while Jellal limped over to me.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Y-yeah." I stuttered, "He tried to kill me..."

"How? From the looks of it, he didn't get very far..." Jellal stated.

"I'm guessing that he was working for my father because he somehow found out I was allergic to meperidine, and tried giving me medicine with meperidine in it." I explained shakily, "After I knocked it out of his hand, and he bent over to pick it up, I noticed he had a gun..." I turned to Jellal, "I killed someone..."

"You were defending yourself. It was you or him." Jellal replied, putting his hand on my shoulder.

"There should've been a different way though." I argued.

"I know... It's hard knowing that you took someone's life." Jellal hugged me, and I wrapped my arms tightly around him.

"Don't go," I pleaded, "It's lonely in here..."

"I need to, but don't worry... I'm sure Natsu, Lucy, Wendy, and Gray are trying to come visit us. When I heal, I won't leave this room until you heal, okay?" he assured me.

I nodded against his chest but didn't let go of him.

Soon enough, there were cops at the hospitals. I got questioned a little, then the doctors made them leave me alone. After the room got cleaned up, I was told to lay back down, so I did. They hooked me back up to the machines, then guided Jellal back to his room.

It was quiet in my room. The only noise was the steady beeping of the machines.

**(Meredy's POV)**

Despite me being unconscious, I could still hear. Maybe that's what it was like when Erza was in a coma. I wouldn't know. What I did know is that when I heard the gunshot, I panicked.

Now, it's been an hour since that gunshot. My eyes opened the tiniest bit. I could only see a faint light, wincing as I tried to move my arms to rub my eyes. Since that didn't work, I tried stretching my eyes open. They only opened a little further. Ignoring the pain this time, I reached up to my face and rubbed my eyes until I could see clearly.

When I looked to the side of the room, I saw Ultear sitting in a chair, her arms folded across her chest, and eyes closed.

"How did you manage to get out of your hospital room?" I thought out loud, eyeing up her wounds.

She opened her eyes and smiled, "I'm glad the doctor I was dealing with was the one that Erza had kicked."

I let out a slight laugh, "You threatened a doctor?"

"I wanted to be here when you woke up." Ultear shrugged.

"You should be laying down, I mean... You _did_ fall through a floor..." I replied, "But... Thank you for being here."

"I'm sitting, does that count?" Ultear asked.

"No. You should be having your wounds treated." I answered, "What was that gunshot earlier?"

"Someone tried to kill Erza, and she kicked their ass." Ultear responded, standing up and walking towards the door, "Be safe, Meredy." she smiled, then left the room.

I shook my head. I sure was friends with some crazy people.

**(Erza's POV)**

Since when did hospitals become so lonely?

"Hey, how are you doing?" I flinched when I heard Ultear.

"Why do I have to stay laying down, but you don't?" I asked, looking at her.

"Uh... I don't think you want to know... Let's just say that I used you kicking a doctor to my advantage." Ultear hesitated.

"Only you would do that... How's Jellal doing?" I asked.

"He's fine, and worried about you." Ultear answered.

I nodded, "What about Meredy?"

"She finally woke up." Ultear responded.

"That's good. You know that Gray won't be happy with you walking around in your condition, right?" I replied.

"I know... But you guys are my family, and you come first." Ultear stated.

"Then do something for us, and take it easy." I responded.

Ultear nodded, "Okay... Don't do anything crazy, got it?"

"I'll be safe." I promised.

Ultear turned away and began to leave the room. She paused and looked at me.

"What's that?" she was eyeing up the wound just below my collarbone.

I quickly covered it, "It's nothing."

She walked over to me, and pulled my hand away.

"What happened?" she gasped.

I tugged my hand away, and covered the wound again.

"It's nothing... I don't want to talk about it." I replied quickly, flinching as my fingernail scraped across it.

She tried to ask again, but I ignored her. Instead, I pulled my knees up to my chest as I remembered getting the wound. Tears filled my eyes, causing me to shut them tightly.

"Erza, it's okay. You don't have to answer, just calm down." Ultear soothed, carefully grabbing my hand, "Do you want me to see if I can get Jellal here?"

I shook my head, "He can't find out about this..."

It took her about thirty minutes to calm me down. Once I was calm, she left.

Natsu came to visit about twenty minutes after Ultear left. He seemed cheerful but upset; I wasn't sure how that worked out, but it did.

"Erza! How are you feeling?" Natsu asked, eyeing up my wounds.

"I'm fine, quit worrying about me you weirdo. I'm not that weak," I smiled.

"I never said you were weak. But you were nearly burned alive. Even the strongest of people can't say they aren't in pain after that. Especially for you since you can't have painkillers. Don't even try arguing with me about that; you even told me you're allergic to something in it because you had to take so many painkillers when you were younger," Natsu folded his arms across his chest.

"Okay then... It hurts like hell. I hate it here, but I can barely manage to walk. My arms still feel like they're burning. I have stitches in my face, and the wound stings badly. I've felt really lonely in here, and I just wish Jellal were with me," I ranted.

Natsu walked over and embraced me in a hug as tears entered my eyes, "It's okay, Erza. We'll catch each and everyone of the assholes that are the cause of this."

"Thank you," I whimpered, finally allowing my tears to fall.

Natsu wiped away my tears, " Smile. It tells them that you haven't lost hope."

Natsu stayed and comforted me for another hour, but he eventually had to leave. He wanted to have some time to check on the others before picking up Lucy from work.

I ended up staring blankly at a wall, and it isn't very fun. Then again, hospitals weren't fun at all. They were scary, and evil. Eventually, sleep gained control, haunting me with nightmares.

**Well, at least they aren't being burned now, they're just in the hospital. I added some Erza/Natsu friendship fluff in this chapter for Kayleigh1789. I hope you liked it! **

**Please leave a review and let me know what you thought of the chapter! **


	21. Chapter 20

**Hello everyone! This chapter is a little late, sorry about that! Anyways, I'd like to thank you all for your wonderful reviews! **

_My father slammed me against the wall, which was normal for me. This time was a bit different though. This time, I twisted my leg and fell. To help pull myself upright, I put my hand on the wall and pulled myself up. Moments after placing my hand on the wall, there was a sharp pain going through my right hand._

_My eyes widened and I opened my mouth, but no noise came out. Tears rolled down my face. I was just about to grab the knife that was holding my hand in place, when my father grabbed it and yanked it back out of my hand. I held my right hand in my left hand, as the blood pooled up in my palm._

The time changed in my dream. The first part, I was fifteen. Now, I was seventeen.

_I was in the basement of my old home. My father's friend, Zancrow, was there holding a baseball bat, while my father was probably upstairs. My back was pressed against the wall, and I had tears rolling down my face, along with blood dripping off the edges of my face._

_"Get the hell away from me..." my voice was shaky._

_Zancrow just simply smiled and swung the baseball bat at me, knocking me on the ground. I let out a slight scream, and pulled myself back to my feet, only to get knocked down again._

Quickly sitting up in bed, I woke up screaming. It was midnight, so only a few nurses and the other patients would hear me. My heart rate was high, and the machine was beeping rapidly. I clutched the bed sheets tightly in my hands. Tears poured down my face, and I roughly wiped them away.

Nurses came rushing into the room, trying to calm me down. Instead of calming down, I became more panicked, and I didn't know why.

"Wait, everyone back up!" one of the nurses ordered.

The others did as told, but glared at her.

"We have to calm her down, or we could lose her!" another nurse snapped.

"Yeah, but she could easily injure us badly." the first nurse replied.

"Get the hell away from me!" I shouted, repeating what I had said to Zancrow in my dream. I began to whimper, but my voice gradually became loud again, "Get away... Get away... Get away!" my arm lashed out, and I knocked over one of the machines.

My mind went back to when Ultear had been in my hospital room.

_'How's Jellal doing?'_

_'He's fine, and worried about you.'_

I froze, then eventually laid back down. My breathing gradually became even again, and my heart rate went back to normal. Quietly, I stared up at the ceiling, while nurses were still trying to take in what had just happened. They slowly began to pick up the mess I had made, and some of them stood up off the ground. Turns out, I had knocked over more than one machine, and a couple of nurses onto the ground. Whoops.

The nurses began to quietly talk amongst one another, while I just laid there and listened. I couldn't make out the words that they were saying, it just sounded how it sounds when there's a lot of people in one space and they're all talking at one time. That's how it sounded to me, at least. I could hear one voice clearly though. The voice was quiet, and near. I was whispering to no one at all. Just whispering.

"I don't want to be here... I want to go home..." I repeated.

After a while, the nurses gradually left. I didn't fall back to sleep though. I couldn't. Suddenly I heard an all too familiar voice. One I never wanted to hear again.

_You deserve this. _

"I know that, you asshole!" I looked down at my shaky hands. One of the machines started beeping faster, but I was too distracted to care.

_You're weak, Erza._

"Shut up! I know that!" I retorted loudly, a couple of tears rolling down my face.

_You prove that to yourself every day, don't you?_

I buried my face in my hands, "Yes! Now shut up!"

Suddenly, the door opened, and I noticed Ultear coming to see what was wrong. She must have heard the machines blaring a warning, and came to see if I was okay.

"Erza?" Ultear came to my side, "Stop panicking, or Jellal will worry, and he's annoying when he worries about you."

I shook my head and whimpered, "Make them stop..."

"Make who-" Ultear stopped mid-sentence, her face changing, and she only muttered, "Oh,"

I glanced up at her, and opened my mouth to respond, but couldn't find a response.

"So…" Ultear mumbled awkwardly before continuing, "Are you going to calm down? For Jellal?"

"For Jellal...?" I whispered, sounding confused.

"Do you want him to worry about you?" Ultear asked me.

I hesitated, then shook my head, "No, Jellal can't worry... He can't."

"He won't, as long as you stay calm. I can stay here with you, if that helps," Ultear offered.

I nodded, "Please."

Just as Ultear was about to lay down nearby, her phone started ringing. She sighed, pressing a button on the phone and fully laying down.

"Meredy will call again if she-" Ultear was cut off by her phone ringing once more.

With a sigh, Ultear answered her phone, "Yeah, Meredy?"

There was a long pause and I could only faintly hear Meredy, not able to make out any words.

"What!" Ultear yelled, "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

I looked to Ultear, concerned. What was so frightening that not only Meredy would call twice, but Ultear would yell at her? I stared at Ultear, silently trying to force her to tell me. She looked over, and likely saw panic in my eyes.

"I did not ignore the call!" Ultear lied, shaking her head at me. Why wouldn't she tell me? After a few more brief sentences, Ultear hung up.

"What is it?" I asked, seeing panic in Ultears eyes'. Was somebody hurt?

"N-Nothing." Ultear stammered, "I have to go,"

"If it's nothing, why do you need to go?" I pointed out, "Also I might have a panic attack if you leave without telling me…"

"T-Too bad!" she turned around, almost running out the door. I yelled after her, and when she didn't stop, I started to tug on the machines. What was going on?

**(Ultear's POV)**

I went to lay down on the small couch of the hospital room. Suddenly, my phone went off and with a glance I noticed it was Meredy. Why would she call me now? I simply hit ignore, wanting rest.

"Meredy will call again if she-" I started to mutter, but my phone started ringing again. Meredy again? What, did someone die?

Sighing, I answered my phone, "Yeah, Meredy?"

"I overheard some doctors nearby and-" Meredy paused to breathe, "Jellal is missing. He isn't in his hospital room, and nobody remembers seeing him. To make things worse, the security cameras' are broken!"

"What!" I yelled at her, "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Hearing movement nearby, I turned to see Erza, panic in her round eyes.

"You ignored the call!" Meredy complained.

"I did not ignore the call!" I lied while shaking my head at Erza. Telling her that her beloved Jellal was missing might give her a heart attack or something. Let alone a panic attack!

"Hurry up, okay?" Meredy commanded, "Go to F.T.B.I, or something!"

"Okay," I sighed, "Thanks for telling me, Meredy."

"What is it?" Erza asked right after I hung up, not caring that I just shook my head.

"N-Nothing." I stammered, "I have to go,"

"If it's nothing why do you need to go?" She rightfully pointed out, "Also I might have a panic attack if you leave without telling me…"

"T-Too bad!" I stuttered, not wanting her to panic, but not able to avoid it. Just great. I turned around quickly and fled, not waiting to hear Erza's reply.

Crap! She better not panic too much… Damn it!

**(Erza's POV)**

What the hell was going on? Not once have I ever heard Ultear yell at Meredy, that is until now. Ultear refused to give me information, and risked giving me another panic attack, which I was close to having. The only way I haven't had a panic attack yet, is because if something really bad happened, I was certain that Jellal would at least let me know that I'd be okay. Right?

Nope. He'd tell me anyways. No matter how bad it was.

I felt my body start to slightly shake. One of the machines started beeping faster as panic soaked its way into my soul. Although, I didn't want anymore nurses or doctors to come into the room. Not at all.

Quickly, I had to calm myself down. I had to. Maybe Jellal was sleeping, and Meredy and Ultear didn't want to disturb him. Yeah, that's what it was.

The beeping machine gradually began beeping at an even rate again, and my shaking body slowly slipped into a slight tremble.

Jellal was fine. He was just sleeping. Yes, he was sleeping. Ultear and Meredy were overreacting too.

I nodded to myself.

Yup. That's what it was. Everything was an overreaction, and Jellal was sleeping.

'_Someone's in denial,' _a voice from my past sneered.

"No I'm not," I argued, folding my arms across my chest.

'_You deny everything,'_

"Do not," I retorted, "I just don't like facing reality sometimes…"

'_Sounds like denial to me,'_

I started to hallucinate, and saw an apparition of one of the girls that had bullied me in High School. She had light blonde hair that was pulled to the side into a braid, green eyes, and was dressed how I remembered her from school.

"Well, what do you know?" I replied, sticking my tongue out at the apparition.

'_I know more than you do,'_ she retorted.

"Nuh-uh! You do not," I responded.

She smirked, '_Denial… Again,'_

"I am not in denial, so shut up," I muttered.

She chanted, '_Denial… Denial… Denial...'_

"You're really annoying..." I groaned.

_'Says the annoying one,'_ she retorted.

"I'm not annoying, you are," I muttered.

_'Denial. Again,' _she replied.

"It's not denial, it's the truth," I mumbled, "Why are you here anyways?"

She let out a slight laugh, _'Idiot,'_

"Shut up..." I groaned.

_'I don't think so!'_ she responded.

"Yes, you're annoying..." I grumbled.

She only let out a small laugh, _'I wonder why your friend left you here...'_

"You should go find out," I replied.

_'I'd ask Jellal, but he's hurt...'_ she muttered.

"No he isn't, he's sleeping," I retorted.

_'Or is he? You don't know...'_ she taunted.

"Too bad, I do now," I retorted.

_'Ha! No you don't!' _she laughed.

"Shut up, I do!" I shouted.

Her apparition suddenly disappeared without a response.

"What the hell?" I asked, "Don't just leave!"

That's when I noticed that the door to my room was closing. I looked to the side, and saw Meredy.

"Who were you talking to?" she asked, curiosity shining in her eyes.

"Uh... I don't remember her name," I answered, "And why do you get to walk around too? You were in the fire for a long time..."

"Um... The doctors don't know I'm walking around, but I heard you shout so I decided to come check on you," she mumbled, then spoke a little louder, "So... The person you were talking to, what did she look like?"

"A bitch," I answered.

Meredy laughed, "You didn't like her?"

"Not at all. She was being mean, and saying Jellal was hurt. He isn't. Nope, not at all," I muttered.

"Nope!" Meredy nodded, looking away, "He's fine... I just checked on him too! He, uhh, said he misses you. Yeah... That."

I smiled, "I miss him too... This place is _really_ boring..."

"It is," she agreed, "Well, I should go... People might notice I'm gone... Yeah..."

"Okay... Tell Ultear not to completely ditch me next time," I mumbled.

"Oh..." she nodded starting to walk away, "I will? Bye!"

"Bye!" I waved to her.

Back to boringness. Me, in a hospital room, alone. Boring. Boring, boring, boring.

**(Ultear's POV)**

Currently, I was at FTBI. Sadly, Jellal wasn't there. Shit. Where else would he be? This whole time, I've been hoping he wasn't in danger. I suddenly saw Mira.

"Mira! Have you seen Jellal?" I asked quickly.

"Isn't he supposed to be at the hospital?" she asked, "Wait... Aren't you supposed to be at the hospital?"

"Yes, but Meredy found out Jellal wasn't there, so I decided to look for him," I explained quickly, "So? Have you seen him, or not?"

"Well if I thought he was in the hospital, I obviously haven't seen him," Mira pointed out.

"True... I hate you now. You suck," I replied.

Mira just simply smiled, "Does Erza know yet?"

"No, she doesn't, and she won't find out because we will find Jellal and take him back to the hospital!" I answered loudly, and quickly.

"Okay, calm down. Let's go upstairs, and see if we can force... I mean... Get some of the others to help us look for Jellal." Mira replied, grabbing my arm, and dragging me towards the elevator.

When we got to the top floor, we were surprised to see that only Lucy, Natsu, and Gray were there.

"Where is everybody?" Mira asked.

Gray, Natsu, and Lucy looked back at us.

"You're supposed to be in the hospital," Gray scolded.

"That's not important. Jellal is missing, he's not in the hospital, and the cameras at the hospital are all broken." I quickly explained.

"Still, you could've just called," he pointed out, "But anyways, you're here why? I mean... I'm sure you've realized that you and Mira are the only other ones here..."

"To force- I mean make- I mean _ask_ you to help us find Jellal. We can't have Erza find out he's missing," I responded.

"First of all... You don't mean ask, you mean force. Second of all, it's a good idea to not let Erza find out," Gray agreed.

"It's a hospital... Surely somebody would've seen him leaving," Lucy commented.

"Well nobody did," I snapped, then forced myself to calm down, "I'm sorry... Jellal is a really good friend of mine, and it's strange when I don't know where he is."

Lucy nodded in understanding, "So... Who's making sure Erza doesn't kill anyone?"

"Uh... Meredy was... Now, nobody..." I mumbled.

Mira sighed, "Gray, go to the hospital, and keep her company."

"Why me?" he asked.

Mira and I glared at him, "Do it, now!"

"Okay... Okay... What I meant to say is, I barely know her, yet you expect me to keep her from killing someone?" Gray corrected himself.

"Well with our luck, I'd probably get sent back to my hospital room, she wouldn't listen to Lucy or Natsu, and Mira can't go because she needs to help me," I replied.

"Fine, I'll go..." he mumbled, then went to the elevator.

My attention snapped to Natsu, "You can't leave Lucy's side at all, got it?"

"Got it...?" he sounded confused.

"Good-" I started, but got interrupted by my phone ringing. It was Gray. I answered my phone, "What do you want?"

"What's my excuse for why I'm visiting her?" he asked.

"Seriously? You aren't creative enough to come up with one on your own?" I asked, annoyance ringing in my voice, "Say I forced you to because you were annoying me, or that you're just being a good friend!"

I hung up before he could respond.

"Well then..." Mira mumbled.

I shrugged, "He was acting like an idiot..."

"Okay, so where do we start?" Mira asked, changing the subject.

"Well..." I started.

**(Erza's POV)**

Obviously, I was already quite a bit out of it, but I could have sworn I had gone crazy when Gray showed up. He looked a bit hesitant to be at the hospital, and I almost thought I was hallucinating again.

"W-what are you doing here?" I stammered in surprise while sitting up.

"Um... Ultear thought I was being too annoying, so she sent me here," he very obviously lied.

"What are you actually doing here?" I asked, folding my arms across my chest.

"Um... Uh..." he hesitated.

"Well?" I looked at him expectantly.

"Um... Ultear wanted to make sure you were okay," he decided.

"The _actual_ reason," my gaze hardened.

Gray took a step back, "U-um..."

I rolled my eyes, "Whatever."

We sat there in an awkward silence for a while. Then I let out a slight laugh.

"I'm surprised you haven't stripped yet," I commented.

"Well... We're at a hospital..." he mumbled.

"So your logic says you can't strip at a hospital, but you can strip at F.T.B.I?" I quizzed.

"Apparently," he nodded.

"Well, I'm going to sleep... You're boring," I mumbled, rolling on my side, pulling at some of the machines, and closing my eyes.

After a long time of silence, I still hadn't fallen asleep. Damn.

"Erza," Gray started, finally coming up with something to say.

"I'm sleeping," I muttered.

"You just responded to me though," he pointed out.

"Nope. I'm sleeping," I shook my head.

"But-"

"I'm still sleeping," I interrupted.

Gray sighed, and gave up on talking to me. I heard the door to my room open.

"Erza!" Wendy exclaimed.

Opening my eyes, I saw Wendy running over to my side.

I smiled, "Hi Wendy."

"Those burns look really painful," she commented.

"They don't hurt too badly..." I responded, not wanting her to worry.

"Oh. What about your cuts?" she asked.

"I barely notice them," I lied. I did notice them. I'm surprised it wasn't obvious that they were really painful. I mean, I got stitches for the one on my face.

She nodded, "Were you trying to sleep when I came in here? I can come back later..."

"No, I was trying to ignore Gray," I replied.

"Mission accomplished," Gray nodded.

"Good, now shush, I'm talking to Wendy," I responded, making Wendy laugh.

Wendy and I talked for a while, but then Wendy's mom came in and said they had to leave.

"Bye," Wendy waved as she left the room.

I turned to Gray, "So what were you going to say before Wendy came in here?"

He gave me a blank look.

"What?" I asked, "I don't feel like ignoring you at the moment."

"It's nothing. Ultear would kill me if I told you, anyways," Gray sighed.

"That's not nice, now I really want to know," I complained.

"No you don't," he replied, "You really don't want to know."

"But I do want to know," I retorted.

"But you don't," he responded.

"I do," I argued.

"You don't," he corrected.

"Yes, I do," I retorted.

"No. I'm positive that you don't want to know," he replied.

"Are you sure you're positive?" I asked, forcing myself not to laugh.

"Yes...?" he responded.

"Congratulations! Now which one are you: a female anything living that isn't a seahorse, or a male seahorse?" I asked.

"Thats not what I meant!" he exclaimed.

"Well that's what I meant when I asked if you were sure you were positive," I commented.

"Why did Ultear make _me_ come here?" Gray muttered, "I highly doubt you'd be this mean to anyone else... Especially judging by your reaction to when Wendy came."

"Why'd Ultear make you come here?" I asked.

"To make sure you don't harm anyone, or yourself," he answered.

I smiled victoriously, "Yes! I finally got a truthful answer out of you!"

"Yes, you did. Now it might be best if you don't ask anymore questions, or I might answer too many of them truthfully, and Ultear could end up killing me," Gray replied.

"Did you know, that you're really boring?" I asked.

"That's not rude..." Gray mumbled.

"But it's the truth," I pointed out.

"Still rude," he corrected.

"I never said it wasn't. I just said it was the truth," I replied.

"Okay then," Gray sighed, "I'll be right back."

He stepped out of the room, and into the hall leaving me in the room alone, whereas the only sound was the steady beeping of the machines.

I groaned, "I wish I could talk to Jellal..."

Gray didn't come back in the room, so I ended up sleeping again.

**I apologize if this chapter wasn't very good. Anyways, leave a review and let me know what you thought of it!**


	22. Chapter 21

**Hello everyone! I'm going to keep this simple because I only had a few hours of sleep! Thank you to those who reviewed, favorited, and followed! Now, enjoy yet another chapter!**

**(Ultear's POV)**

"Okay, where the hell is everyone? Someone should be here by now!" I exclaimed.

"Calm down, I'm sure they're all just downstairs," Mira tried to calm me down.

"Well go check! We need their help," I ordered, "If they aren't here, then try calling them! There's no way that they've all just vanished! They couldn't have!" I ranted.

"Alright, I'll go check, you, Lucy, and Natsu can start trying to call them," Mira walked towards the elevator, then stopped and faced me, "Don't take your anger out on Natsu and Lucy. They're as stunned as you. It's unusual for nobody else to be here, we all know that. Even Lucy."

Mira turned around, and was just about to walk into the elevator.

"Wait," I sighed, "Take Natsu with you, I'll keep track of Lucy. I don't want you going downstairs alone. And Mira, I'm sorry. I'm just stressed."

"It's alright, you have every reason to be," Mira nodded as Natsu walked over to her. They entered the elevator, and left to check for other agents.

I turned to Lucy, "Okay, you know a majority of people here, right?"

"Yeah," she answered.

I sat down at the table she was sitting at, "Alright, I'm going to give you a list of agents' names and numbers, and you're going to call them. Tell them that I want them at the agency as soon as possible. If they don't answer, don't leave a message. Just hang up, and go to the next person. Got it?"

Lucy nodded, "Y-yeah... Um, what should I do if I don't recognize the name?"

"Tell me, then I'll call them," I replied, then pulled out my computer to get a list of names and numbers. Then, I quickly printed them and handed Lucy a couple pieces of paper.

By the time we were half way through our list, Mira came back up.

"There's someone downstairs," Mira stated, "He's not an agent and he's wounded; we aren't sure how severe the wounds are. We can only see the blood, but he won't talk much. He doesn't trust us."

"Okay... Um... You stay here and help Lucy, I'll go downstairs," I responded, getting up.

Mira took my spot as I went downstairs. When I got down there, I saw a young boy sitting by the front desk, and Natsu was standing roughly three yards away from him.

Natsu looked over when he heard my footsteps.

"He started crying when we got too close to him," he explained.

"Okay, um... Has he said anything to help us find out what happened yet?" I asked.

"No," Natsu shook his head.

"Alright," I looked at the boy, "Hi, I'm Ultear. Are you hurt badly?"

"I'm R-Romeo. I-I have c-cuts o-on my arms a-and l-legs," he stuttered.

"Can you stand?" I quizzed.

"Sort of," Romeo mumbled.

"What do you mean by that?" I slightly tilted my head in confusion.

"W-well, i-it h-hurts to st-stand," he explained.

"Okay, will you be able to make it to the elevator? There are a few more agents upstairs," I stated.

He nodded, and slowly started to get up. Romeo stumbled a little but quickly caught his balance. I slowly began to walk to the elevator, Natsu close behind walking with Romeo, but keeping his distance at the same time.

When we were in the elevator, Romeo sat in the far corner. Natsu and I stood on the opposite side of the elevator as him.

"Romeo, can you tell us what happened?" I asked.

He didn't respond. Instead, he was staring at the ground, his eyes wide in horror. Suddenly I noticed that he was mumbling something. I took a step closer then crouched down by him.

"A-are you alright?" I quizzed.

Romeo didn't answer.

I looked at Natsu, hopeful that he'd help me. Natsu shrugged, and gave me the 'I have no idea what's going on,' look.

"She might die," Romeo suddenly whispered.

My attention suddenly shot back to him.

"What did you say?" I asked.

Again, I didn't get a response.

The elevator doors suddenly opened. We were on the fifth floor.

"Romeo, we're on the top floor now," I stated softly, "Come on, you can meet Mira and Lucy."

I held my hand out to him, and he cautiously glanced up at me.

"It's okay, you can sit down again when we're off the elevator," I told him.

Romeo tentatively took my hand, and we both stood up then got off the elevator. Natsu had already gotten off, and was across the room, by Mira and Lucy. I led Romeo over to them, then pulled out a chair for him.

"Would you like something to eat?" Mira asked him.

He shook his head.

"Romeo, can you tell us what happened?" I tried again.

No response.

I warily looked over to Mira.

Mira shrugged, "Oh by the way, Gajeel is in his office with Levy. They're trying to track down the other agents as we speak. They're also seeing if they can track Jellal's phone."

I nodded then turned back to Romeo, "Where are your parents, Romeo?"

"M-my dad is m-missing..." he stammered.

"What's your dads name?" Mira asked.

"H-he w-works here... H-his name i-is M-Macao," Romeo stuttered.

"That's why you seem familiar," Mira mumbled. She spoke slightly louder, "Don't worry Romeo, we have agents looking for your father as we speak."

Romeo nodded, and stared at the table, tears welling up in his eyes.

I crouched down to Romeo's height, "On the elevator, you said someone might die... Who were you talking about?"

"H-her name is W-Wendy," he started.

"Wendy? As in Wendy Marvel?" I asked.

He nodded, "You know her?"

"Yeah," I answered, standing up, and turning to Natsu, "Go get Erza out of the hospital. I don't care if you aren't allowed to yet, you're going to get her, and don't tell her about Jellal."

Natsu nodded, and went to the elevator.

"Why do you need Erza?" Mira asked, concern edging her voice.

Turning to Mira, I answered, "Because the first full response we got from Romeo was him telling us about Wendy. Erza might be able to get more answers out of him since she knows Wendy."

"Then why not take Romeo to Erza?" Mira quizzed.

"Just trust my judgement okay? For once, just trust me," I replied then turned away from her.

**(Erza's POV)**

Five minutes after waking up from a two hour nap, Gray still wasn't back. That asshole. He was supposed to keep me company.

The door suddenly opened, and I looked over to see Natsu.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, "And don't give me any bullshit like Gray did."

"Well, I'm sure you'll be quite satisfied with why I'm here," Natsu responded.

"Okay, and why are you here?" I asked again.

"Would you be okay with leaving the hospital? Ul-" he started.

"Yes! This place sucks!" I exclaimed.

"Okay... As I was saying, Ultear needs your help with something," Natsu finished.

Yes, I was excited to be leaving the hospital, but I wasn't quite sure how Natsu planned on getting me out. Judging by my panic attacks, the fact that I had bad burns, and that I could still easily pass out, surely the doctors wouldn't let me leave.

"What's the plan to get me out of here?" I asked.

"Gray should make a good distraction," Natsu nodded, "I already told Meredy that we were taking you out of the hospital."

"Did you tell Jellal?" I asked.

"Yeah," Natsu mumbled, pulling out his phone.

I rolled my eyes, and unhooked the machines that were connected to me. Then I stood up, stumbling a bit as I walked over to Natsu.

"Are you okay?" Natsu asked.

"Yeah, I just haven't stood up much in a couple of days. I'll be fine though," I assured him.

He gave me a wary look, "Don't make me regret following Ultear's orders..."

"I'll be fine," I smiled.

"Good," Natsu replied, "Lets go. Gray should be just about ready to be a distraction."

I nodded in response.

One of the nurses suddenly screamed, "Why the hell did you strip?"

"That would be Gray," Natsu commented, "Let's go."

While Gray was on one end of the hospital, with a bunch of nurses and doctors yelling at him, Natsu and I went a different way, and left the hospital. We jogged to Natsu's car, then waited for Gray.

"Gray was an idiot, and walked here," Natsu explained.

I nodded, "So, why does Ultear need me so badly as to take me out of the hospital?"

"Um," Natsu hesitated, "It's kind of hard to explain..."

"Explain it the best you can," I pressed.

"Do you know who Macao is?" he asked.

"No," I answered.

"Macao is someone that works at the agency, or that's what Mira says. Anyways, Macao's son, Romeo, came to agency injured, and he says that his dad is missing..." he trailed off.

"That still doesn't explain why you need me," I pointed out.

"Wendy is also missing, and Romeo won't talk," Natsu added, "Ultear thinks you'll be able to get him to talk."

"Wendy? Are you sure?" I quizzed.

"Yeah, Ultear asked him," Natsu nodded.

"I still don't see why you guys couldn't have asked any of the other agents," I muttered.

"There's almost nobody at the agency. Levy and Gajeel are trying to call people, but they aren't having much luck," Natsu explained.

"How does nearly the entire F.T.B.I agency disappear?" I asked in surprise.

"No clue," Natsu shrugged as Gray came jogging over.

"You could've put your clothes back on before coming out here," I muttered, getting into the passengers seat of Natsu's car.

Natsu went to the driver's seat, leaving Gray to sit in the back.

"So, let me get this straight..." I stated, "Wendy, and nearly the entire agency is missing?"

"Yeah, the only people that aren't missing are... Those who are, or should be at the hospital, me, Gray, Levy, Gajeel, Mira, and Lucy," Natsu explained.

"You sounded hesitant," I told him.

"No I didn't," Natsu retorted.

"Yeah you did," I argued.

"Guys shut up, I can't hear Ultear," Gray grumbled.

When I looked back at him, I saw that he was on his phone.

"I know... I know... I mainly meant shut up to Natsu," Gray rolled his eyes, "No, I wasn't telling Erza to shut up."

There was a pause.

"Yeah okay, we're almost there, Ultear." Gray hung up without waiting for a response.

Moments later, we pulled up in front of the agency, and got out of the car. Again, I stumbled a bit when I walked, but when Natsu and Gray tried helping me, I refused.

"Erza, don't overdo it," Natsu warned, "You may be strong, but nobody's invincible. Not even you."

"I'll be fine, it's just burns," I responded.

"Yeah, tons of them," Natsu replied.

"Erza, you don't need to act strong all the time around us, we're your friends," Gray added.

"I'm fine, honestly..." I rolled my eyes.

"Lets just get upstairs," Natsu sighed as we entered the building, and headed towards the elevator.

When we were in the elevator, I awkwardly put my hand over the painful spot by my right collar bone.

"Are you okay?" Gray asked, noticing my uncomfortableness.

"Yeah," I mumbled, "I'm fine."

We stood there in an uncomfortable silence for a while.

"Do you have a sweatshirt I can borrow?" I asked him.

"Yeah, it should be with Mira and Ultear," Gray responded.

"Thanks," I slightly smiled.

The elevator doors opened, and we made our way across the room, to Mira, Ultear, Lucy, and a boy with black hair.

"Erza!" Lucy gasped, and hugged me.

"Hi..." I muttered as she let go of me.

I turned to Gray, and before I could ask, he gave me a sweatshirt. Smiling gratefully, I grabbed it, and put it on, zipping it up all the way.

Glancing at the boy that was sitting down by Mira, I noticed the sadness shining in his eyes.

"This is Romeo," Mira informed.

Romeo glanced up at me but looked back down right away.

"Could you guys give me a few minutes alone with him?" I asked.

Mira nodded, and got up, "We'll be in the kitchen."

She directed the others towards the kitchen, and I sat down by Romeo.

"Romeo, can you tell me what happened?" I asked.

Receiving no response, I sighed, "I know you don't want to talk about it, but that's the only way we'll find Wendy."

Again, I received no response.

"Romeo, you want to save Wendy, right?" I asked.

He nodded.

"Okay, then I really need you to answer my questions. I want to save Wendy as much as you do," I stated.

No response.

"What happened to your arm?" I asked, noticing the blood stains on the sleeve of his shirt.

"Um..." he started.

"I'll make a deal with you," I stated, "If you tell me what happened to you, I'll tell you what happened to me. Okay?"

Romeo hesitated for a moment, "A-alright."

He took a deep breath, and thought about how he was going to word it.

"Wendy and I were walking home from school, and we decided to take the shortcut through the park... Someone came over to us and-" he started.

"I'm sorry for interrupting, but what did that person look like?" I interrupted.

"Uh... H-he had long, spiky b-blonde hair, a-and r-red eyes..." he muttered.

"Do you know his name?" I asked, though I had a feeling I knew who it was.

Romeo shook his head.

"That's alright, I think I do," I responded, then called over towards the kitchen, "Mira, can you get Levy up here?"

"Yeah, I'll call her," Mira called back.

"Alright Romeo, can you finish telling me what happened?" I asked,

He nodded, "That guy came over to us, a-and h-he said that he n-needed help b-because his daughter w-was hurt,"

The elevator door opened, and I looked back to see Levy.

"Romeo, you can take a break for a little bit, I need to talk to Levy," I informed him.

Romeo nodded again, and I got up and walked over to Levy.

"Hi Erza," Levy greeted, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," I nodded, almost as if assuring myself that I was fine.

"That's good," Levy smiled, "So, what can I do for you?"

"I'm not exactly sure if I'm thinking of the same person that Romeo is, so could you look for an image of someone for me?" I asked.

"What's the name?" Levy opened her laptop, and got ready to type.

"Zancrow. He has long, spiky blonde hair, and red eyes," I answered.

Levy typed the name and description, then waited for it to load. While we were waiting, I looked back at Romeo. He was just quietly sitting with his hands in his lap, and his head down.

"Is this him?" Levy suddenly asked, making me look over.

I was silent for a few moments and just simply stared at the picture.

"Yeah, that's him," my voice was quiet.

Bringing the computer with me, I walked back over to Romeo. He looked up when I set the computer on the table.

"Romeo, is this the guy that went up to you and Wendy?" I asked.

"Yeah, that's him," Romeo nodded.

"That's what I thought..." I muttered, blocking the worry out of my voice, "Can you finish telling me what happened?"

"W-Wendy didn't t-trust him, and she didn't want t-to help h-him... B-but I d-did, so sh-she followed m-me when I w-went to h-help h-him," Romeo stuttered.

A few tears rolled down his face.

He glanced up at me, "Is this my fault?"

"No, it's not your fault. Nobody blames you, Romeo. Not even Wendy," I assured him.

"That's a lie..." Romeo mumbled.

"No it's not," I responded, "Romeo, you need to stop thinking it's your fault, okay? You can't blame yourself. Now, what happened after you went to help him?"

Romeo took a deep breath, "He brought us towards the woods, then suddenly shoved Wendy towards a truck, where someone else grabbed her. I-I tried t-to save h-her but... I-I couldn't."

Levy suddenly screamed, half excitedly, making me jump, and look back at her, "Ultear, come here quickly!"

Ultear came out of the kitchen and quickly made her way over to Levy. Once Ultear was close enough, Levy whispered something to her.

Ultear smiled, with a look of relief on her face, "Send the address to my phone."

Levy nodded, and quickly went back on her computer. By now, everyone else had come out of the kitchen, and were half crowding around Levy.

I gave Romeo an apologetic smile, then got up, and walked over to them. Ultear quickly tucked her phone away, and Levy shut her computer.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Nothing," Ultear answered quickly.

Giving her a disbelieving look, I replied, "That's bullshit. Ultear, just tell me! Gray already gave me enough bullshit!"

"Gray gave you bullshit?" Ultear slightly laughed, "I've had everyone giving me bullshit! I think Natsu's the only one that hasn't given me bullshit! Gray kept asking questions, Lucy is useless in this situation, Gajeel was acting like an ass, Levy wasn't working fast enough, and Mira just can't trust my instincts!"

"Well I wonder why!" Mira retorted sarcastically, "Last time I trusted your instincts, Lisanna died!"

"How was I supposed to know that they'd find out about her?" Ultear yelled

"Nothing wouldn't have happened to her if you had helped me keep her from going undercover, rather than letting her go!" Mira shouted.

Shakily, I backed away from them, by now they were all shouting at once. Suddenly I felt a tug on the sweatshirt sleeve. I turned to see Romeo looking up at me, eyes wide.

"Wh-why are they yelling?" he asked, "Aren't they trying to find Wendy?"

I slightly frowned, "Don't worry, we'll find Wendy... They'll probably stop yelling soon."

Hopefully...

"O-okay.." he looked to the ground, "D-d-do you know what's his f-face... Z-Zancrow? How?"

"Uh... Th-that's a long story… I'll tell you another time," I mumbled.

He looked like he was going to protest, but thought against it. After a moment, he said something different.

"D-Do you have anything to eat?" he asked.

"Lets go check in the kitchen," I responded.

We walked to the kitchen, still able to hear the others yelling at each other.

"You told her to go, Ultear!" we heard Mira yell, "How is it not your fault?"

"Guys, calm down! Don't we have people to find?" Gray yelled at them.

"It's not like the entire agency is missing!" Ultear snapped, "But sure, let's go. I got Jellal's-"

Suddenly the room was quiet, and only Romeo shuffling through snacks could be heard. In the quietness, I heard Levy let out a rare curse word. I slowly stepped out of the kitchen, and looked at them.

"What does Jellal have to do with any of this?" I asked shakily.

"O-oh," Ultear turned, seeing me there, "J-Just the hospital room number, for like the phone. I was g-going to see if Jellal has a-any idea on where the a-agency might be...?"

I gave her a blank look, "Really? Then call him right now."

"S-sure!" Ultear smiled, grabbing her phone, "I hope he's not asleep..."

After hitting a few buttons on her phone, she held it up to her ear. In a few short moments, she sighed.

"Phone's dead," she proclaimed.

"Ye-" Natsu started then coughed, "Yeah, that's a shame..."

Glaring, I muttered, "Fine..."

Not waiting for a response, I walked back into the kitchen, where Romeo was now eating a large bag of pretzels. As I entered the room once more, he looked over.

"What's going on?" he asked, obviously confused.

"Um... I'm not exactly sure," I sighed.

"Oh," he sighed, "Wh-Who is Jellal?"

"Uh, h-he's my boyfriend..." I mumbled awkwardly.

Romeo nodded slightly, "He's okay, right?"

"W-well... As far as I know... He's in the hospital," I answered.

"What?" his eyes widened, "Why?"

"Um... We were in a fire," I responded.

"Is he recovering? Why aren't you in the hospital?" Romeo asked.

"I was... Then I came here," I replied.

"Are you completly healed?" he quizzed.

"Not even close," I admit, "I don't like hospitals..."

"But shouldn't Jellal be here too then? That doesn't seem fair...'

"It's best for him to stay and recover," I nodded to assure myself.

"That goes for you too..."

"I suppose that's true, but Wendy needs my help right now," I replied.

He paused but eventually nodded. Instead of replying, he went back to eating his pretzels while looking down to stare at the floor.

Sighing, I filled a cup with water, but decided I wasn't thirsty.

_'Did you really think I wouldn't be back?'_ a horribly familiar voice mocked.

"Shut up," I muttered quietly.

"What?" Romeo asked, confused.

"N-nothing," I stammered.

_'Trying to be strong again? Good luck getting away with that...' _Zancrow's voice taunted.

"Not now," I groaned, tears forming in the corners of my eyes.

_'Erza, you are strong, don't listen to him,'_ Jellal's voice suddenly butted in, making me immediately alert.

"Jellal?" I asked, my voice cracking.

"Erza?" Romeo's conserved voice filled the air, "I-I'll go get the others…"

By the time I processed what Romeo had said, he was already talking to Ultear.

"Um, Erza's acting... Strange" Romeo told Ultear.

Moments later, Ultear came walking into the room.

"Erza? What's going on?" she started running over to me.

I wiped the tears out of my eyes, "Nothing, I'm fine. I'm fine."

"Bullshit. What is it?"

"I'm j-just hearing v-voices... But I'm fine, really," the last part was a lie.

"E-Erza?" Ultear stuttered, "You never did see the hospital reports, did you? From the time you were in a coma?"

"Well, no... Why?" I asked.

"You… you likely don't remember this, but…" Ultear paused, "You basically had a mental test, and the results were…"

"W-why is that important now?" I quizzed.

"The voices," she sighed, "among other things, that is. That's why. You're mentally ill."

"And how long have you known this?" I whimpered.

She paused before looking down, "Right after the coma. During that month or so. Right around Christmas. We didn't tell you because… It isn't exactly easy to bring up…"

"Is there anything else I should know about?" I asked, my voice shaky.

"Umm…" she paused once more, "Other than being mildly… what was it… schizophrentic?"

"Y-yeah, other than that..." I mumbled.

Time seemed to go slowly as Ultear mumbled to herself. After eons of waiting, she sighed and nodded.

"Yes…" she sighed, "Will you promise not to kill anybody for not telling you?"

"S-sure...?" I replied.

"It's about Jellal…" she sighed.

Suddenly, I was completely alert.

"What is it?" I asked immediately.

"He- He…" she paused, "He isn't at the hospital."

"W-where is he?" my voice came out as a whisper.

"Apparently…" Ultear pulled out her phone, "He's here. We just located his phone. Do you recognize this address?"

Once again, tears formed at the corners of my eyes, "Oh my God... That's my old house..."

"Shit." Ultear muttered before calling out, "Okay everyone! Let's go! Levy, watch Romeo, okay?"

"Alright," Levy responded.

"It's likely that Wendy is also there," I added quietly.

Ultear nodded, turning back to me, "Do you want to go, or stay here? Do you think you _can_ go?"

I hesitated, then nodded, "I-I'll go... Yeah, I'll go."

"You sure?" Ultear asked once more.

"Y-yeah," I responded, nodding once more.

"Okay," she turned back to the group, "Erza is coming with! She knows everything from mental state to Jellal! Also, she knows this place…"

"It's likely that Wendy and Jellal are in the basement..." I mumbled, "There are only a few small windows down there."

Ultear only nodded, "Everyone to someone's car! Let's hurry!"

"I'll drive!" Natsu suggested grabbing his keys, "I'll speed too, okay?"

"Fine," Ultear sighed, "Don't throw up!"

"It was once!" he sighed, almost out the door already, "Okay, twice."

Ultear sighed and quickly ran after him, almost dragging me along with her. Gray followed us as well, but Mira and Lucy hesitated.

"What is it?" Ultear sighed in annoyance, "We don't have all day!"

"C-Can I stay back?" Mira stammered, "I can help Levy, and talk with you from a phone while Levy uses a computer, and Lucy can play with Romeo!"

Ultear sighed, "Fine. Let's go, Erza."

We almost sprinted out the door, seeing that Natsu had already started the car. My stomach turned at the idea of being near the old house, let alone in it. Jellal needed my help though. He has helped me more than enough times! I can do this for him.

_'You're too weak!' _an angry voice yelled inside my head.

"I know, but.." I mumbled, "But..."

_'You deserve this!' _he sneered.

"I know..." I mumbled louder, "b-but Jellal..."

I stumbled into the car, getting questioning glances from the others. I'm fairly sure Ultear said something to me, but the ringing in my ears blocked her out. I felt more and more dizzy with each passing second.

_'Worthless... Pathetic...' _he seemed to growl at me, _'Your own mother hated you!'_

"Stop, Stop!" I yelled back helplessly. Ultear shook my arm, trying to talk to me, but it was all too loud. The yelling, the ringing, the crying as tears fell quickly from my eyes. The world seemed to fade in and out.

Suddenly sharp pain engulfed my side, I looked to see that Ultear had punched me. She was holding a small bottle of water and two large white pills. I paused for a second, unsure, before taking the pills and swallowing them, not even touching the water.

The world still seemed fuzzy, and I could barely hear a thing. At least the voice stopped. It stopped and I felt my muscles loosen ever so slightly. My eyes felt heavy, and the world around me blinked in and out of sight. Within moments, I found myself laying against Ultear, barely conscious.

"Erza?" I heard a voice after sometime, "Erza, are you okay?"

I blinked my eyes open. Had I fallen asleep? I wasn't too sure. Forcing myself up so that I wouldn't be half on Ultear, I looked around. We were in some sort of parking lot, and Ultear was shaking me slightly.

"Turns out this place is farther than we thought, so we're stopping for food." she explained, "Are you feeling better?"

"S-Slightly..." I muttered, "How far are we?"

"Umm... A ways. It's been two hours since we left, and we aren't even half-way there." she sighed, "Anyways, you want the strawberry cake? Gray can run in and get some for you. We're at a nearby cafe."

I looked up slightly, "Three pieces?"

"You heard her Gray! Get four!" she yelled.

"Why me?" he complained, "Why can't-"

"Get four!" I yelled back. He quickly got out of the car.

"And a smoothie or three!" Ultear yelled after him.

It took a while for Gray to get the smoothies and pieces of strawberry cake. Apparently, they had run out of cake, so he had to force them to make more.

As soon as Gray was back in the car, Natsu continued towards my old house. Gray handed me my cake, Ultear a couple of smoothies, keeping one for himself, and giving one to Natsu. After a moment, Ultear offered me one as well. I gratefully took it, and held it in one hand while I finished my first piece of cake.

"So," Ultear started, "The address is 4506 Applewood Lane, in the middle of nowhere?"

I nodded, "Convenient, right?"

She nodded as well, "Yeah, the closest neighbor is about three... No, four miles away?"

"Yeah... When I lived there, the neighbors were never home anyways," I mumbled.

"Oh..." Ultear sighed, "That must've sucked."

"It did," I nodded.

"What did you do for fun?" Ultear asked.

"Uh... I barely knew what fun was," I muttered.

Ultear awkwardly looked away, "What did you do during the day?"

"On the weekends? Nothing," I shrugged as if it were nothing.

"Nothing? You sat there and breathed? Really?" she seemed surprised.

"Yeah. I sat in my room doing nothing," I stated, "Let me rephrase that... I _hid _in my room, doing nothing."

"Oh," Ultear paused for a moment, "What was the first fun thing you ever did?"

"Sword fighting," I answered simply.

"Wow. I should've known." Ultear chuckled, "When was that?"

"Three years before my father got arrested... I joined the after school program, and lied to my father, saying I had tutoring after school," I slightly laughed.

"Nice!" Ultear laughed, "I remember the first time I lied to my mom. No, I did not steal anything, nor kick and punch a kid, I promise."

"Such a friendly person you are, Ultear..." I announced sarcastically then rolled my eyes.

"Correct! We became friends later, although we were different ages. Maybe she was scared of me..." Ultear laughed.

"Are you talking about Meredy? It sounds like you are," I stated.

"What, no! How would you get that idea?" Ultear stammered quickly, "I was not! Duh!"

"So... You were talking about Meredy," I rolled my eyes.

"No!" she shook her head, "I called her Pinky at the time!"

"What a wonderful nickname..." I muttered sarcastically.

"I know, right!" she chuckled, "Mine was... Well, never mind that..."

"Tell me!" I exclaimed.

"Nope! No!" she hid her face.

"Fine, I'll just ask Meredy the next time I see her," I stuck my tongue out.

"No! Don't do that! I'll tell you all ten! Just don't mention it to her!" Ultear yelled.

I laughed, "Okay, so what were they?"

She gulped, lowering her voice so Natsu and Gray couldn't hear, "Bully, loser, wimp, crybaby, Ully Wully, tattletale, dumbo, weirdo, and Fruithead."

"You were afraid of telling me those? I've been called worse," I stated.

"I know... But, but..." Ultear looked away once more, "They were lying! I aced my tests thanks to Pinky. I wasn't dumb or we- dumb. Yeah."

I rolled my eyes, "Of course you weren't dumb. Plus, you're in FTBI now."

"And I have the best friends ever..." Ultear mumbled, her face red.

"And Gray's your favorite, isn't he?" I teased.

"What?" Gray turned back, confused.

"No!" Ultear yelled, her face in flames, "Meredy is! Meredy is! Pinky!"

I laughed, "Are you sure?"

"Yes! Then Jellal, you, Levy, Mira, Natsu," she stopped for a moment before listing almost every member, "and lastly Gray. Oh, then Gajeel."

"At least I'm not last," Gray muttered.

"Did you get tomato on your face?" Natsu asked Gray, who looked at the floor.

"N- Yes. That." Gray sighed.

"What city are we in?" I suddenly asked, getting slightly bored.

"Umm," Natsu paused, "I think we're in Rilton."

"An hour away," I sighed.

"Yep, next is Sandberry, with a whole population of fifty. Then your hometown of Zandwich, at the huge population of two."

"Yup... This is the town I went to school in, actually..." I muttered.

"Yeah, or go to school with that one kid and one teacher, which is likely his parent. Oh wait, that's over two." Ultear laughed.

I laughed, "Looks like there's either no teacher, or that other kid is the teacher."

"And the mayor," Natsu laughed.

"Looks like there was more people..." Gray muttered, holding a map he got from the cafe, "But almost all of them left. Doesn't say why... Oh wait! Here it is... Oh..."

"What?" I asked, leaning forward in my seat to peer over his shoulder. There in tiny print read:

_Zandwich, population 2_

_This town once held over a hundred people until the huge murder case a few years ago. The murderer wasn't caught after killing a family of four. The remaining fifteen people later almost all moved away. This left two single people. _

"I wonder which one of my father's asshole friends was the murderer..." I muttered.

"Y-Yeah," Gray moved his thumb to cover something I hadn't yet read.

"What are you hiding?" I asked.

"Wh-Who some locals think the murderer might've been. It's likely wrong anyways..."

"Then show me!" I demanded.

He sighed, moving his thumb. There was my father's name.

"That... Isn't as surprising as it should be," I sighed, "Although, I bet Zancrow or Cobra helped him... They seemed to never leave his side, except for when- Never mind..."

"What I want to know..." Ultear mumbled, grabbing the paper from Gray, thankfully ignoring me, "Is why the F.T.B.I. never heard of this. I didn't even know this town existed, let alone there was a murder there!"

"Probably my fathers doing..." I mumbled.

Ultear only nodded, sighing.

"We're in Sandberry," Natsu announced as a few farms entered our view.

"Could you stop the car for a moment? I need some fresh air," I told him.

"Sure," he nodded, "There's even a small park over here. Let's stop there."

Soon we pulled to a stop near a small grassy park. It had a single bench and small trail that surrounded a pond. It was maybe the size of four bedrooms, if that.

Immediately, I opened the door and got out. My arms folded across my chest, I walked around, unable to stay still.

"You okay?" Ultear asked, getting out of the car along with the others.

"Yeah," I mumbled, "I just need time to think."

Ultear nodded, heading over to the bench while the others went to the pond.

Eventually, I forced myself to sit down by a tree. Leaning my head up against the trunk of the tree, I looked up at the sky. It was the only thing to keep my mind off of reality. The sun was almost setting, and the moon was already taking its place among the sky.

Sighing, I got up and walked over to Ultear, "We should go..."

She nodded, standing up. Calling to the others to tell them we're going, she started to the car.

"Oh! Buckle this time, Erza!" she reminded me.

I smiled, but as we got closer to the car, my nervousness made me feel sick. Shaking my head, I reminded myself that I was doing this for Jellal.

Forcing myself to the car, I got in, and I did as Ultear told me to, I put on my seatbelt. Soon, Natsu turned on the radio, and we sat in silence. I stared out the window, not really focusing on anything.

"We're in town!" Natsu called out, "Zandwich, population... Three?"

"Looks like someone either actually moved into this forsaken place or you're still on the sign, Erza!" Gray laughed.

I smiled, "This town is _very _popular. Tourists come here all the time."

I'm not sure when, but sometime between when we stopped at the park, and when we got into the town off my old home, I had eaten my last three pieces of cake. Plus, I drank my smoothie.

Soon, we were in front of my old home. Taking a deep, shaky breath, I stepped out of the car with the others.

"It looks like nobody's here," Natsu commented quietly.

"There's at least one person here," I muttered, "That, or all of them are here, and their cars are hidden. Be alert at all times, and don't let your guard down."

At once, the four of us took out our guns, and went to the front door. When I twisted the doorknob, I was surprised to see that it wasn't locked. Then the voices came back.

**Cliffhanger!**

**As much as I'd love to say that I came up with everything in this chapter, I can't. Thank you Leaf of Shining Moss for helping me with this! **

**Leaf is my best friend in real life, and she has helped me with many chapters of this story; I've just forgotten which ones.**

**Anyways, please leave a review to let me know what you think!**


	23. Chapter 22

**Hello everyone! I'm not sure when I last updated this, and I'm too lazy to check so here's a new chapter! XD Enjoy the chapter!**

_'Did you really think you'd get away for long?' _an evil voice seemed to whisper in my ear.

I shook my head, and muttered, "Shut up..."

"Erza?" I think Ultear whispered, "Oh no, not now..."

"Don't worry about me," I mumbled.

_'Acting strong again? You never learn, do you?'_ a hauntingly familiar voice mocked.

"Shut up," I growled, trying to block out the fear coursing through me. Once more, pain shot up my side. I looked to Ultear, but she was standing a bit away, eyes wide. I looked down at my side to see a large strip of blood, and above it, a knife.

"What the..." someone mumbled, maybe even me. The pain seemed to numb me, and I could only stare in shock.

After composing herself, Ultear rushed over to me to look at the wound.

"Erza, this is going to hurt, okay?" she warned me, grabbing the hilt of the dagger like knife. Without waiting for my response, she pulled it out.

My eyes widened from the pain, and my left hand immediately shot up to cover my right side.

Ultear looked to Natsu and Gray, "Do you two have anything to bandage her up with?"

Before they could respond, I interrupted, "I'm fine, it doesn't need to be bandaged."

_What am I saying? Of course, it needs to be bandaged! I could bleed to death at this rate or at least, pass out from blood loss!_

"Er-" Ultear started to protest.

"No, I'm fine," I snapped, then let out a light laugh, "This will just add on to the blood stains around here anyways."

"Erza, are you su-" Gray started.

"Yes!" I persisted.

"It's deep..." Ultear sighed.

"So? I've had worse..." I muttered.

"That's not the point! The point is-" Ultear started to protest.

I interrupted, "The point is, we need to find Wendy and Jellal!"

Ultear rolled her eyes, "Fine, but if I notice you not as your usual self, you are leaving this place, got it?"

"Whatever," I muttered.

We soon came across two sets of stairs: one leading down, and one leading up.

"Erza and I will go down, you two go up," Ultear instructed.

Natsu and Gray nodded, then made their way upstairs. Meanwhile, Ultear and I went downstairs. The basement, nothing but hell. Pure hell.

**(Wendy's POV)**

Quite a few FTBI agents, one of which being Jellal, and I were in the basement of someone's house. I wasn't sure whose house it was, or how the FTBI agents got there though. All I knew is that none of us wanted to be there.

There were three additional men, but they had the choice of being there. One of them being the one that lured me towards a spot, so they could take me, his name is Zancrow. The second guy was the one that actually took me, and shoved me into his car, his name was Cobra. The third one's name was Rusty Rose.

"Let us go," I pleaded. my voice weak and full of pain. Oh, I'm sorry. Did you think that I had no wounds? Or was that just what you hoped? I already had a ton of bruises, and a few cuts.

"Hell no," Zancrow growled, "We have strict orders to keep you here."

"What? Can you not decide things on your own?" Jellal muttered.

"Shut up," he grumbled, kicking Jellal. Jellal winced as Zancrow hit a previous bruise on his leg.

"Don't hurt him!" I protested, moving towards Jellal.

"Wendy!" Jellal turned to glare at me. Within moments, pain engulfed my legs as I was kicked for the tenth time. In the same spot. I winced, and let out a yelp.

Zancrow rolled his eyes, and turned to Cobra, "Do you know if Erza, or one of her other friends are here yet? I'm starting to get bored…"

There was suddenly a high pitched beeping noise coming from the far side of the room. When I looked to where the sound was coming from, I saw a blinking red light.

A smile appeared on Zancrow's face, "Looks like things just got interesting."

"I wonder who got hit…" Cobra muttered.

"Got hit by what?" I stupidly asked.

Instead of kicking me, Rusty Rose simply smiled, "A knife. Well, dagger more so."

My eyes widened in horror, " I hope that's just some kind of sick joke…"

The three of them laughed. I'll take that as a no...

Tears welled up in my eyes, and I sobbed while they laughed at the horror on my face.

**(Erza's POV)**

Ultear and I cautiously searched the floor that my bedroom had been on. We came across the door that led to my old room. When we opened it, I saw that it hadn't been touched at all since I left.

Curiously, Ultear walked over to the bed where I had a journal laying out. Immediately, I ran over, and grabbed it before she could.

"You probably don't want to read this," I stated.

"Why?" Ultear asked.

"You won't like what's written inside it," I mumbled awkwardly.

"Erza!" Ultear groaned , "Don't tell me it says what I think it says…"

"W-well that depends on what you think it says…" I muttered.

"Then let me read it," she sighed, "I'm curious!"

"I'm sure you'd prefer not to read it," I mumbled.

"Please…" she whined.

"Nope, you won't like it," I persisted.

"Fine," Ultear sighed, stepping towards me slightly, as if to leave the room. Then, she suddenly snatched the journal out of my hand, opening to the first page.

"Ultear!" I protested, "Give it back!"

When I reached for the journal, Ultear held it farther away from me.

**(Ultear's POV)**

I held the journal away from Erza, reading the first page.

_Deer Jurnal -_

_Moter gave tis bok to me. She say to rigt in it. So I wil. Do I juss rigt evry day? Ok. Hav a good day futur Erza. Ok? _

_Erza N._

"That was so cute!" I smiled, "Have a good day, future Erza!"

"Yeah, sure… It was very cute. Just don't read any further," Erza muttered.

"Okay, I will," I nodded, flipping a few pages ahead.

"Ultear! You aren't going to like it, I can assure you of that!" Erza exclaimed.

Erza took a few steps forward to try to grab it, but I put my arm out to hold her back while I read.

_Deer __Dear Journal - _

_Mother is acting wierd. Shes paniky or some thing. This morning she gave me a lagrer book. A dictonary. Why would I ned it? Couldnt I ask her? She sure is acting stange._

_Erza N._

"One more?" I looked to Erza.

"No, give it back!" I argued.

"Okay!" I nodded, flipping many pages. I was about in the middle of the book now.

_Dear Journal - _

_Today was the same as always. Miserable. I wish I could end this nightmare, but I can't. Sometimes I feel that I should believe my father. Believe the fact that I do deserve this. If I didn't deserve this then it wouldn't happen, right? Sometimes I want to take the easy way out. Sometimes I'm just not sure. I can only hope one day, far in the future, things will be better. Maybe Mother will come back, and we can be happy again. Will I ever be happy again? Was I happy in the first place? I'm not so sure what "happy" means anymore. I promise that if mother does come back, I won't disappoint her like I did when I was younger._

_Erza_

"Erza Scarlet!" I glared at the suspect, "I hereby never allow you to even think anything like this again, or I will tell Jellal what this says! Are we clear?"

"I told you you wouldn't like it…" I mumbled, "J-just don't tell Jellal…"

I sighed, hiding the small journal in my back pocket to look through later.

"Fine. Let's look through the other rooms." I agreed.

Erza nodded, and quickly left the room.

**(Erza's POV)**

After leaving the room, I walked down the hall to another room. One of which I had never been allowed in. To my dismay, when I opened the door, there sat six FTBI agents, none of which being Jellal.

One of the FTBI agents - if I remembered correctly, her name is Bisca - slightly nodded towards something just behind the door. Something that was just out of my sight.

Somehow, managing to understand what the agent meant, I jumped back just as a gunshot sounded, leaving a bullet hole in the wall.

"That was close," Ultear whispered, running into the room to help the agents. I was about to follow her when I fully took in my surroundings. Blood lined the walls and floors. Dried blood that is. The crimson stains were on every surface other than the ceiling. Otherwise, the room was empty. Not even a chair or table. Just pure em-

Or not. In the farthest corner of the room laid shattered glass nearby a picture frame and of course, a picture. A picture of someone with long brown hair, and a tint of scarlet. I would recognize her from anywhere.

Wiping tears from my eyes, I helped Ultear with the agents. Untying the rope holding one of the agents —the one that helped me— hands together.

"How badly are you wounded?" I asked her.

"Not too badly... Just some cuts on my stomach and arms, and some bruises..." she responded.

"The person that gave you the wounds, what did he or she look like?" I quizzed.

"She had long, wavy black hair, sh-she wore a lot of make up..." she trailed off.

By now Ultear was closer to us, and listening to the conversation.

"That would be Minerva," Ultear muttered.

I nodded, "Was there anyone else in here?"

"No, just us a-and Minerva," she answered.

"Bisca, can you stand?" Ultear asked.

Bisca nodded, carefully getting up to prove she could. Meanwhile, the other agents were already standing, and waiting for us.

"Erza will be taking all of you somewhere safer. From there, she'll call Mira and have her pick you up, okay?" Ultear told the agents.

"Wait what?" I asked in shock, "No! I'm going to help you find the others!"

"You're supposed to be at the hospital," Ultear pointed out.

"So are you!" I retorted.

"I'm not the one that was in the basement of a building, got tortured, then nearly got burned to death!" Ultear argued.

"Whatever, I'm staying here," I grumbled, "You can take the agents to safety."

"And leave you? No way!" Ultear retorted.

"Um…" Bisca spoke up, "I can take the other agents to safety, then come back with a gun."

"Are you sure?" Ultear asked.

"Yeah, whose car did you take?" Bisca answered.

"Natsu's," I responded, "He and Gray are upstairs."

Bisca nodded, then led the agents out of the room.

**(Jellal's POV)**

I wasn't really concerned about myself during this, I was more so concerned about the other people with me, like Wendy. The main thing I was hoping for, was that Erza wasn't there. Although, that hope soon became short-lived.

We could suddenly hear Erza yelling, "No! I'm going to help you find the others!"

Although we couldn't hear the response, but we did hear Erza again, "So are you!"

"I'm not the one that was in the basement of a building, got tortured, then nearly got burned to death!" Ultear yelled.

Again, we didn't hear the response. We didn't hear them for a few minutes now.

Did Ultear really have to bring Erza? She's lucky Erza didn't have a panic attack! Shit.

Zancrow smiled, "Oh, so Erza _is _here... I hope the memories _are_ too much for her."

"Yeah, it would be nice to see her break down again," Cobra agreed.

We suddenly heard Erza yelling at Ultear again.

"Ow! Fuck you Ultear!"

**(Erza's POV)**

Ultear and I walked around in silence for a while, but eventually Ultear decided to argue with me.

"Why the hell didn't you leave when I told you to?" she asked.

"Technically you didn't tell me to at first, you just stated that I was leaving," I retorted.

"Same difference. You should've left," Ultear grumbled.

I rolled my eyes, "Whatever... I can't leave now, so it sucks to be you."

We opened a door that led to another set of stairs. At the bottom of the stairs, there was a door that was boarded up.

"Seems like we'll be getting down there soon," Ultear muttered sarcastically.

We cautiously went down the stairs. Once we were halfway down, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye, and quickly pulled Ultear to the side, just in time to help her dodge a knife.

"Holy shit..." she mumbled then whispered, "Thanks."

Slowly, we began to make our way down the stairs again. I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my left side.

"Um... Ultear," I mumbled just to get her attention.

She looked back at me, "Oh shit."

She was quickly at my side again, and about to pull the knife out of me.

"Wait, just leave it. It'll bleed more if you pull it out, and I've already bled a lot from the last wound," I persisted.

"Yeah, and you could end up needing stitches again if I don't pull it out," she retorted.

_Actually, I'll need stitches anyway..._

"So you basically just said that you'd rather have me lose a lot of blood, than need stitches," I replied.

Ultear rolled her eyes, "Either way, after this, you'll be in the hospital."

"Yeah, but I could still slip into a coma, again," I pointed out.

"You're over exaggerating," Ultear scoffed, but I could see the nervousness in her eyes. Before I could protest, she yanked the knife out of me.

"Ow! Fuck you Ultear!" I shouted, "I told you to leave it!

"And I told you I wasn't going to," Ultear retorted.

"Whatever, let's get out of here. There might be a different way down," I grumbled.

We walked back up the stairs, and I twisted the doorknob.

"It's locked," I stated.

"What?" Ultear asked in disbelief.

"See for yourself, it's locked," I stepped to the side.

Ultear tried opening the door as well, but it was still locked.

"Ugh," Ultear groaned, letting her head slam against the door.

"Ultear!" I exclaimed, "Don't do that!"

After pulling Ultear away from the door, I sat on the stairs. The door suddenly opened, and Ultear jumped up. I got up after her, only to see Gray in the doorway.

Ultear hugged him, "Oh my god, I love you!"

"Umm..." I muttered.

Ultear suddenly slapped him, "But Erza still got hurt, you were too slow to get to this door!"

"Ow!" Gray exclaimed, holding his face. Annoyed, I pushed past them, and paced around in the hall.

"Um Erza... Your shirt is now barely grey..." Gray muttered.

"I know," I retorted, and kept pacing.

"Gray, go back upstairs with Natsu, and look for anyway to get down into the basement," I instructed.

"But-" Gray started.

"Nope," I interrupted, "Upstairs. Now."

Gray ducked his head, and walked towards the stairs. There was suddenly a gunshot from somewhere upstairs.

"Ultear go with Gray," I ordered, mostly because if I found a way downstairs, I didn't want her to see me break, that of which I would.

"No, he can handle it on his own," Ultear argued.

There was another gunshot, and I pointed toward the stairs, looking sternly at Ultear.

"I'm going... I'm going," she muttered, then ran for the stairs.

Sighing in relief, I walked down the long hallway. Eventually, I came across a room. When I opened the door, I noticed that the room appeared to be empty, except for some tools cluttered on the floor.

"This is the last room down here," I muttered to myself.

Suddenly, I tripped, and fell against the wall. Only what happened, normally doesn't happen when someone falls against a wall. This time, I fell through the wall, and onto a staircase.

"Ow..." I groaned, "What the hell?"

Cautiously, I made my way down the staircase, and came across a door. I opened the door, and jumped back right away. Not because it was rigged like a few of the other doors were, but because of _who_ I saw. Zancrow, Rusty Rose, and Cobra. Shit. The worst part was, they were _right_ there.

"Hello Erza," Zancrow greeted, an evil gleam in his eye.

I took a step back, backing myself against the wall, "I-I'll just b-be r-right back... W-with Ultear. Y-yeah..."

Rusty Rose snickered, while Cobra grabbed my arm, and pulled me into the basement. As he pulled me, I hit my side against the wall, and winced. Once I was in the basement, the first person I noticed was Jellal. His eyes widened when he saw my bloody shirt.

"It's not as bad as it looks," I quickly told him, receiving a punch in the stomach from Zancrow. I grimaced but didn't say anything.

Zancrow suddenly walked towards Jellal, stopping right next to him.

"Erza, I hope you realize, that even though it's not as bad as it looks for you, it's about to get worse for your friends," Zancrow smiled.

**(Jellal's POV)  
**  
"Erza, I hope you realize, that even though it's not as bad as it looks for you, it's about to get worse for your friends," Zancrow smiled.

He grabbed me by the arm, and pulled me up so I was standing. Zancrow pulled a dagger out of his pocket, and he smiled evilly at the horrified look on Erza's face as she tried to pull herself out of Cobra's grip.

Suddenly, I felt a piercing pain slowly going down my arm, along with blood rolling with it. I looked down, hiding my pain from Erza. The pain soon moved to my other arm, but the pain worsened on that arm as he pressed the dagger deeper into my flesh.

"Look up," Zancrow growled.

I shook my head, not willing to risk Erza hearing the pain in my voice. Zancrow punched my stomach as hard as he could, making me gag.

"No, stop it!" Erza screamed. When I looked up, I could see the tears streaming down her face.

Zancrow was suddenly holding the dagger to my throat, smiling at Erza.

"No, leave him alone!" Erza cried, "J-just let everyone go, and take me instead... Please..."

Cobra let go of her as she dropped to her knees, and cried into her hands.

"Please," she pleaded again, "You can do whatever you want with me. You can even kill me, I won't resist."

Zancrow let go of me, moving the dagger away from my throat and shoved me towards the door.

"Get out," he grumbled, pulling Wendy and the other agents to their feet, and shoving them as well.

We had no choice, but to leave. If we didn't leave, they'd kill Erza for sure. Carefully, we shuffled towards the stairs; I stayed behind everyone and shut the door once everyone was on the stairs. Thankfully, we ran into Ultear and Gray on the stairs. They quickly untied the ropes on our wrists. Gray handed me his gun after I quietly explained the situation, and he brought the others upstairs. Meanwhile, Ultear and I stayed just behind the door.

"Aren't you supposed to have a cast on your arm?" I asked.

"Yes, just like I'm supposed to be at the hospital," Ultear retorted.

"Meredy's still at the hospital, right?" I quizzed.

"Of course," Ultear replied, "and just so you know, I tried to keep Erza at the agency. She refused though, and we didn't have much time."

I nodded in response as Bisca came down the stairs with a gun in hand.

"After this is all over, keep an eye on Erza. Make sure she doesn't harm herself," Ultear stated.

"Okay...?" I responded, confused.

**(Erza's POV)  
**  
By now, I had my back pressed up against the wall, my knees tucked against my chest, my arms wrapped securely around me, and my face buried in my knees. Cobra stood off to the side, Zancrow was right by me, and Rusty Rose was a few feet away.

Zancrow crouched down by me and tauntingly tugged on my arm, "I thought you said you wouldn't resist?"

"I'm not resisting," I whimpered, "I'm cowering like the freak I am."

"You've got that right," Zancrow laughed.

I stubbornly tugged my arm away from him. Suddenly, I heard the door open, and after a moment, three gunshots sounded. At first glance, I couldn't see who came into the room. After I wiped the tears from my eyes, I saw Ultear pointing a gun at Cobra, Jellal pointing a gun at Zancrow, and Bisca pointing a gun at Rusty Rose.

What Zancrow didn't realize, but I most certainly did, was that Jellal was slightly shaking, and wouldn't be able to aim correctly a second time. Luckily, Natsu came down and took Jellal's spot. Meanwhile, I quickly got up, and staggered over to Jellal.

While Ultear, Bisca, and Natsu checked them for weapons, Jellal hugged me tightly.

"Promise me, you will never trade yourself out like that again," Jellal mumbled weakly, "Promise me..."

"I promise," I whimpered as I felt a few tears land on me.

A while later, the cops and some ambulances showed up. They took the agents back to town, and arrested anyone who was working for my father - that was in that house. Meanwhile, Ultear, Gray, Natsu, Jellal, and I refused to go in an ambulance, and drove Natsu's car back.

I sat in the backseat with Ultear and Jellal. Of course, I was sitting next to Jellal. Hugging his arm, I rested my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes.

**(Jellal's POV)**

I looked at Erza, who was sleeping peacefully next to me, her head resting on my shoulder. When I looked over to Ulear, I noticed she was reading something.

"What are you reading?" I asked, slightly leaning over, but careful not to disturb Erza.

"Umm... Sorry, I promised I wouldn't tell unless-" she cut herself off.

"Unless what?" I quizzed.

"Nothing," she shook her head.

"Ultear-" I started.

Ultear rolled her eyes, "Shut up, or you'll wake Erza up. You can look at it, but don't get upset with Erza, and don't confront her on it."

"What?" I asked, surprised that Ultear actually handed me the journal that she was reading, and confused on what she said.

I opened to a random page in the journal.

_Dear journal,_

_Today was yet another wretched day. Home. School. Home. Always the same pattern. Can I not escape the abuse? Everywhere I go, it seems I'm just waiting to be pushed around. Maybe that's because I kind of am. I guess I'm waiting to be pushed far enough over the edge, so I can take those final steps to death. Death. A word that used to be scary, but became my word of freedom._

_\- Erza_

I glanced at Ultear, but she wasn't paying attention. Slipping the small journal into my sweatshirt pocket, I kissed Erza on the top of her head. She curled up tightly against me, and pulled her legs up onto the seat. Her peacefulness soon turned into worry though.

"Je...lal...forgive...me," Erza mumbled, worry echoing her voice.

Carefully, I wrapped my arms around her, held her tightly, and kissed the side of her head. Her eyes fluttered open, and she looked up at me.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah..." she yawned. Her stomach growled soon after that.

I laughed, "Natsu, you better stop for food soon."

Erza hid her crimson face against my chest. Soon, we were at a restaurant, going through the drive-through.

"Gray, where's the sweatshirt you let me borrow earlier?" Erza asked, then looked on the ground, "Never mind, Ultear's stepping on it."

Ultear lifted her feet as Erza grabbed the sweatshirt, then quickly put it on.

**(Erza's POV)**

I put on a sweatshirt for two reasons. One, if the workers at the restaurant saw someone wearing a bloody shirt, they'd freak out. Two, I still wasn't willing to risk Jellal seeing the fact that I had been branded.

After we got our food, we stopped at a park to eat. I actually had something that wasn't strawberry cake. Instead, I had a hamburger. My food was gone in a minute. I guess I was just a little hungry.

"Erza, judging by how fast you ate, it makes it seem as if you haven't eaten in forever," Gray commented.

"Well... I only eat the hospital food when they make me... But I did have three pieces of cake and a smoothie on the way, but I was only aware of eating one piece of cake..." I mumbled.

Jellal sighed, and put his arm around me, "Erza, if you're still hungry, you can have some of my food."

"But you haven't eaten in a while," I objected.

"Yeah, but I'll at least eat the hospital food without them making me," Jellal pointed out.

"He has a good point," Ultear smiled.

"Fine, but unless you want to eat while Natsu's driving, all of you better hurry up and finish your food. We need to get back soon, so I can tell Romeo that Wendy's okay," I replied, grabbing a small handful of Jellal's French fries.

"Alright, I guess we're eating in the car then," Ultear sighed, getting up and walking to the car.

Jellal, Natsu, Gray, and I followed her. When we were in the car, I cuddled up against Jellal's side again, and rested my head on his shoulder once more.

"My sides hurt," I complained, although I was still trying to sleep again.

"That's because you got stabbed. Twice," Ultear replied.

"I know, but you didn't have to be so rough that second time when you pulled the knife out," I muttered.

"You were the one telling me to leave it," Ultear retorted.

"Because it hurts more after you take it out..." I mumbled.

"If I didn't take it out, you'd end up needing stitches again!" Ultear exclaimed.

"I'm going to need stitches anyway, they're really deep wounds," I pointed out.

"So? What you're saying is that you'd rather get more than what you're going to get," Ultear glared at me.

"W-well..." I started.

"Erza Scarlet, don't you dare say that there was a part of you hoping to get wounded more than you did!" Ultear scolded.

"Don't yell at me again! You already yelled at me earlier!" I exclaimed.

Jellal looked at us curiously.

"Um... About the journal that I wouldn't let you read," Ultear explained.

"Actually you did let me read it..." Jellal muttered.

I glared at Ultear, "I thought you said you wouldn't tell him!"

"I said I would tell him if you so much as thought like that again, and you technically did when you traded yourself," Ultear responded.

"He would've killed Jellal if I didn't," I mumbled.

"And he could've easily killed you," Ultear retorted.

"He would've waited at least three days," I replied.

Before Ultear could respond, Jellal interrupted, "It's done with now, the important thing is that none of us died."

"You aren't mad about the journal?" I asked.

"I'm upset that you thought death was the better option, but there's nothing I can do to change what you thought in the past," Jellal sighed.

"I'm sorry," I apologized, burying my face in his arm.

He kissed the top of my head which made me look up at him.

"Why are you crying?" he asked.

Am I crying?

Jellal brushed some tears off my face with his thumb. Before I could answer, his phone rang. He answered his phone.

"Oh my god I have amazing news!" I heard Levy shout as Jellal moved the phone away from his ear. After Levy finished talking, he put the phone back to his ear.

"Okay, now explain... Try not to scream," Jellal sighed.

There was a moment of silence.

"Alright, I won't tell her. She's going to be upset though," Jellal mumbled.

He hung up the phone, and I looked at him curiously.

Jellal shook his head, "I just told Levy I wouldn't tell you."

"That's no fair!" I complained.

"For me or for you? Just remember, I'm currently stuck in a car with you for an hour," Jellal pointed out.

"An hour and forty-five minutes," I corrected.

"Same difference," Jellal replied.

Ultear suddenly looked at Jellal, "Did you know that there was a murder in Erza's hometown?"

"No...?" Jellal responded, clearly confused.

"My father's friends didn't brag about it?" I asked, "That's a surprise..."

"They were too busy being mean to Wendy," Jellal mumbled, "And they were too busy bragging about the injuries they've given you..."

"They also hurt you?" Ultear's eyes widened.

I scooted closer to Jellal, "Y-yeah... Mostly Zancrow a-and Cobra... Sometimes Angel and Rusty Rose... A-and then there were the kids at school always pushing me around..."

Out of embarrassment, I buried my face against Jellal's chest. Jellal put his arm around me as I drifted to sleep.

Soon, I felt someone lightly shaking my arm. I opened my eyes to see Jellal looking down at me.

"We're here," he stated.

I stretched and sat up, yawning. Jellal opened the car door, and got out then waited for me to get out, which didn't take long. Yawning again, I hugged Jellal. He smiled and kissed my forehead, then shut the car door.

As soon as we were in the FTBI building, I practically ran to the elevator, then waited for Jellal to catch up to me.

"Hurry up," I whined.

"I'm going as fast as I can..." Jellal rolled his eyes, "Some people aren't physically able to leave a hospital whenever they decide to because they're good at not noticing pain."

"Yeah... Yeah..." I mumbled, "Now hurry up."

I entered the elevator as soon as Jellal was two feet away from me.

"Way to be empathetic..." Jellal muttered sarcastically as he entered the elevator.

"Yeah, I'm a very empathetic person," I smiled as the elevator doors shut. I let out a slight laugh, "We're both here, at work, when we should be at the hospital getting stitches."

"And getting our burns treated again," Jellal added.

"We don't need them treated again," I argued.

"We kind of do..." Jellal mumbled.

I rolled my eyes and kissed him.

"I love you."

I'm not sure which one of said it or if we both said it, but it was said.

When the elevator doors opened, I was surprised to see that Wendy was talking to Romeo.

"No, it's fine. I promise. Plus, Jellal helped me through it when I was crying," Wendy smiled at Romeo.

"Jellal... The one that's supposed to be in the hospital?" Romeo asked.

"Yup, that's him!" Wendy laughed.

Romeo must've seen us out of the corner of his eye because he was suddenly waving at us. We walked over and sat down by them.

"Hi Romeo, how are you feeling?" I asked.

"I'm fine. Thank you for helping find Wendy!" he smiled.

"I told you she wouldn't blame you," I responded.

"Are _you_ okay?" Romeo countered.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied.

"Really? Your shirt is kind of... Covered in blood," Wendy mumbled.

I looked down, "Right... And Gray's sweatshirt now has some blood stains on it... I should probably go to the hospital before I lose way too much blood..."

"You're just now thinking about that?" Jellal quizzed.

"Maybe... I kinda forgot I was even bleeding..." I mumbled.

"That's Erza for ya!" Wendy smiled, "OH MY GOD, WHERE'S CARLA?"

"She's in my office," Mira stated, coming up behind her.

Wendy grabbed Romeo's hand, "Come on, she has to know I'm okay!"

Before leaving down the stairs, she turned and smiled at us, "Thanks for your help everyone!"

Mira turned to us, and practically pushed us up and out of our seats, "Off you go, you two... You should both be at the hospital. I'm already ensuring that Ultear actually gets a cast on her arm..."

I sighed, "Alright, we're going... But I'm not staying overnight."

Long story short, I did end up staying two nights. Mira made sure of that. Jellal also stayed two nights, even though Mira wanted him to stay five. He refused because he wanted to stay by me. Ultear, however, stayed at the hospital with Meredy, and the other agents that were there.

**After going through this chapter especially, I've realized that I lacked a lot of detail, so I might do a big edit on this chapter. Anyways, leave a review and tell me what you thought. **

**By the way, I've already noticed this chapter was pretty rushed.**

**Next chapter is the last chapter!**


	24. Chapter 23

**The final chapter! O.O *sigh* Thank you for reading the story everyone! I'm glad you liked it! Wait... what the hell am I talking about? I should save that message for after you've read the chapter... Whoops.**

A few days after I got out of the hospital, Levy came into my office with a slight frown.

"Um... Some agents found your father, he's downstairs right now," Levy explained, "The problem is, since nobody even saw your father while they were taken, there's no technical proof that he assisted with it. They want to know if you could maybe talk to him, and try to get him to admit it. However, Jellal says that he won't allow you to be alone with your father, so he's going to be by your side the entire time. Oh, and Cobra somehow escaped again."

_Shit!_

I hesitated for a moment, then eventually stood up, "I'll talk to him..."

"Thank you," she smiled apologetically.

We left the room, where Jellal was waiting just outside the door. He held my hand as Levy led us down the stairs, to an interrogation room.

Standing behind the glass, where my father can't see me, I looked at him and began to doubt that I was actually able to talk to him.

Jellal put his arm around me and whispered, "You'll be okay."

I nodded, but didn't move from where I was standing. A part of me wanted to stay there, frozen in fear. Another part of me wanted to run away and cry. Then there was that very tiny part of me that wanted to stay there, and not be afraid anymore.

"Erza, you don't have to do this if you don't want to," Jellal reminded me after a while.

"I know," I mumbled then walked towards the door of the interrogation room. Naturally I wouldn't have been able to go into the same room as my father, but the way Jellal held my hand undoubtedly and how he stayed right next to me, it made me feel safe enough to go.

"Remember, the whole idea is to trick him into confessing," Levy reminded.

I nodded in response. As we walked into the room, I felt fear course through me.

"Oh wow, the big plan is to send Erza in here?" my father scoffed, "And her boyfriend?"

Ignoring what he said, I sat down across from him, with Jellal sitting next to me.

"Tell me about the people you murdered," I insisted, looking my father in the eye.

"Well the first people I murdered were-" he started.

"The people in Zandwich," I stated.

My father smiled, "Precisely. I killed the first family right after I. . ."

He did tell me, and I hate him for telling me.

Jellal's eyes widened in horror, and tears came to my eyes. Jellal quickly blocked my father out of his mind and turned his attention to me. My tears poured more rapidly with each passing second. Jellal put his hand on my shoulder, and he was talking to me, although I couldn't hear what he was saying. The ringing in my ears became louder and louder.

Suddenly, I felt pain in my right shoulder. I looked to my left, where Jellal was sitting, but he was just looking at me, concerned. When I looked to my right I saw Mira, who had punched my shoulder. As I took in my surroundings, I realized that I was no longer in the interrogation room.

I took a deep breath and mumbled, "I'm sorry..."

"What are you sorry for?" Jellal asked.

"I-I couldn't get him to confess," I whimpered, tears forming in my eyes once more.

Jellal hugged me tightly.

"Actually, he technically did confess to a sin of his that we didn't know about," Mira pointed out.

"I want to go talk to him again," I mumbled.

"No, Erza," Jellal shook his head.

"Please, I need to prove to myself that I'm not just some scared little girl," I pleaded.

Jellal hesitated for a moment, "Fine, but if he causes you to freak out..."

"I know... I know... If he causes me to freak out, you will make sure I'm out of that room, and you you will send Ultear after him because we both know that even though her arm is in a cast, that won't stop her from hitting someone," I responded.

"Sure, Ultear gets to hit him if you freak out, and remember... When I say we should leave, then we're leaving. I don't need you having a panic attack." Jellal sighed, "Ready?"

"Yeah," I nodded.

When walked back into the interrogation room, my father smiled.

"Erza, you always have been an amusing thing," he commented.

"Yeah whatever, I'm glad I could amuse you," I rolled my eyes.

"Sure you are..." my father mused.

I took a deep breath, "Tell me about the people you've harmed... The people that aren't me."

"Well, you aren't a person my dear," my father retorted.

"Okay then tell me about the people you've harmed," I responded, annoyed.

He listed around fifteen people and what he did to them. I had to force myself not to react.

"Technically I didn't harm any agents, but Zancrow was supposed to kill your boyfriend and the girl. Apparently he thought it would be better to trade for you," my father rolled his eyes.

Jellal nudged me, signaling it was time to go. We stood up and left the room without saying another word. Once we were out of the room, the tears came back. We sat down on some nearby chairs, and Jellal hugged me while I cried.

"He did that... To all those people," I whimpered, "A-and to my mom... No wonder she hated me."

Jellal held me away from him and looked me in the eye, "Erza, there's no actual proof that she ever hated you. Don't you dare put yourself down because of what your father said."

I nodded in response and wiped my tears away, giving Jellal a forced smile.

My father would be going to jail. Zancrow was in jail. Rusty Rose was in jail. I could finally go to sleep at night without the fear of them circling in my mind. For now.

**~~To be continued...~~**

**Don't you worry everyone! I've decided that I'm going to be writing a sequel! Yay! **

**A sequel? Oh yeah! Duh! That's what happens when you're insanely bored and want something to write, right?**

**Please leave a review and tell me what you thought about the final chapter of Fighting my Past! **

**The sequel probably won't be posted for a couple of weeks.**


	25. Sequel Announcement!

GUYS! YOU MISUNDERSTOOD THE STORY PART AT THE BOTTOM! THAT'S FOR A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT STORY! I JUST NEEDED TO ADD STORY CONTENT SO I WASN'T BREAKING ANY FANFICTION RULES!

* * *

**Great news everyone; I have officially decided to work on a sequel for Fighting my Pat! I am unsure of what I will call it, but I'll be sure to let you all know; the first chapter of the sequel should be posted in a couple of weeks. I would say next week, but I'm going on a family vacation and won't have any internet connection.**

**Anyways, I'm going to respond to your reviews for the last chapter now.**

Guest: i cant wait 4 sequel, but could u also explain what past erza n cobra had, maybe in the sequel u could rite in his pov

**I will explain more about Erza's past with Cobra; That's actually going to be somewhere in the first ten chapters or something. Don't worry ,I didn't forget.**

Leaf: IT'S FINISHED! YOU DID IT!

So glad I could help with writing this story. Now stop writing Sorrowful Scars for a second and work on the sequel. :-)

**I couldn't reply to your review… Were you really too lazy to login to leave a review? XD Thanks for helping with the story, and I will be taking a break from Sorrowful Scars so I can write the sequel.**

Kasumi Yukimura: Weeeeeee! I can't wait for the sequel! Please upload it soon! I love this story! :) And that cliffhanger is horrible!

**I'm glad you liked it so much! I know I most likely already PMed you a response to your review, but I felt the need to respond again instead of just responding to two people on here.**

sarah scarletxX: Great last chapter for the story. The "for nnow" at the ending though. I'll be sure to check out the sequel.

**I'm glad you liked the final chapter, and I look forward to seeing your reviews for the sequel.**

Kayleigh1789: *sobs* it's over. It's all over! What am I supposed to do with my useless empty life now?!

**Just wait a couple more weeks! I might even get up this week because I just need to do some editing to the first chapter, and that's all. I also need to find time to edit it… XD I'll figure it out.**

_**Oh, and before I forget, so I'm not breaking any rules... Story content! (This has nothing to do with Fighting my Past) This is part of the beginning of a story I'm going to be working on after the Fighting my Past sequel. You don't have to read it, but if you want to, go ahead! Here's part of the prologue:**_

Magic was rare and dangerous; only few people possessed the power of magic. Out of fear of magical power, the government banished all magic users to one area. In a corner of the kingdom of Fiore, lived a group of wizards rejected from the world. The banishment was made official because of. A wizard that was passing through Fiore - his name is Zeref; he had killed an entire town of people.

Before the mages were banished, young Erza Scarlet lived with her Grandpa, Rob. However, since he was a magician, he was banished as well, leaving Erza as an orphan.

Only months after the banishment of wizards, the government found out that Erza had also gained magical power, so she was banished. You'd think that if all wizards were banished to the same area, they'd know each other more, but that wasn't the case. A lot of the wizards separated themselves from the other wizards due to different beliefs in what to use magic for.

The wizards weren't completely on their own; the government checked up on them every week. It seemed that the wizards had decided to split themselves into different guilds and alliances based off of their beliefs.

Not long after the guilds were formed, Erza's grandfather died. She didn't allow herself to shed tears though; the young redhead had shed enough tears when she was first separated from him. Even though she made herself seem strong, she was actually really sad. The young girl decided to join Fairy Tail - a guild that her grandfather was very fond of.

Eight years after the banishment, there was an exciting announcement. Well, it was exciting for all the magicians of Fiore. As for everyone else... They hated it.

_**Well, have a great day/week/month/year everyone! **_


	26. Final Sequel Announcement!

**Hello again! I decided to make this a separate chapter for this announcement so people would read it. This is a quick announcement though. **

**The small part of a story on the last announcement has nothing to do with the sequel; I did mention that, but I worded it strangely. It's a story I'll be working on after I finish the sequel. My apologies for the mix up; I just didn't have any other story content to add... Sorry folks.**

**Also, I've come up with a title for the sequel: The Fight Starts Again**

**Thank you Kasumi Yukimura for helping me with deciding the title. I didn't want to do exactly what you suggested, but I decided to do a variation of it.**

**I will be posting the first chapter of the sequel today!**

**As for the story content because I don't want to break any rules, I'm just going to put a short poem.**

Roses are red.

Happy is blue.

If you don't like Fairy Tail,

I'll kill you.

**And you know what... Just because I'm insanely lazy, I'm just going to say fuck the rules... I do not want to make a more than four line poem.**

**Have a nice day/night!**


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